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FROM 



LOG-CABIN 



TO THE 



WHITE HOUSE 



BY 



WILLIAM M. THAYER, 

i I 
AUTHOR OF "THE PIONEER BOY, AND HOW HE BECAME PRESIDENT," 
"TACT, PUSH AND PRINCIPLE," LIVES OF "AMOS LAWRENCE," 
" CHARLES JEWETT," ETC. 




BRIGHT. *3j} 

APR 16 1881 

No...: :;■ 



^o f wash ingJ. 

BOSTON : 
JAMES H. EARLE, PUBLISHER, 

NO. 20 HAWLEY STREET. 
l88l. 

ir 






COPYRIGHT. 

1880, 

By James H. Earlb, 



Stereotyped at the Boston Stereotype Foundry, 
No. 4 Pearl Street. 



TO THE 

BOYS OF THE UNITED STATES, 

&ljis Volume, 

PORTRAYING THE INDUSTRY, COURAGE, DECISION, 
ENERGY, PERSEVERANCE, AND 

NOBLE CHARACTER 

OF THE GREATEST OF LIVING STATESMEN, 
IN HIS EAKLY STRUGGLES FOR A LIVE- 
LIHOOD AND EDUCATION, 

$8 Sraterelg aub gtffettionatelg gebicatefc. 



PREFACE. 



Sixteen years ago the author prepared a book 
for boys upon the early life of Abraham Lincoln, 
entitled, The Pioneer Boy, and How He Became 
President. The favorable reception of that vol- 
ume carried it through thirty-six editions. Six 
months ago the publisher of this volume suggested 
that a similar work for boys of the present time, 
upon the early life of General Garfield, would fur- 
nish one of the noblest examples of success for 
them to imitate. 

On gathering materials from the most authentic 
sources, we were forcibly impressed by the resem- 
blance of General Garfield's early obscurity and 
struggles, as well as the triumphs of his manhood, 
to those of Mr. Lincoln ; and this fact completely 
reconciled us to a previous engagement to prepare 
the work. 

Both of these statesmen were born in log-cabins, 
built by their fathers, in the wilderness, for family 
homes. Both were poor as mortals can well be. 
Both were born with talents of the highest order ; 

5 



6 PREFACE. 

but neither enjoyed early advantages of schools and 
teachers. At eight years of age Lincoln lost his 
mother ; and when Garfield was eighteen months 
old he lost his father. Both worked on a farm, 
chopped wood, and did whatever else was needful 
for a livelihood, when eight years of age. Both 
improved every leisure moment in study and read- 
ing. Both read all the books that could be bor- 
rowed for miles around ; and each was known, in 
his own township and time, as a boy of remarkable 
mental ability and promise. Both of them early 
displayed great tact and energy, turning a hand to 
any kind of labor, farming, chopping, teaming, car- 
pentering. In his youth, Lincoln run a flat-boat 
down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Or- 
leans, eighteen hundred miles, on a trading expe- 
diti6n ; Garfield, at about the same age, served on 
a boat of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal, driv- 
ing mules and acting as steersman. Both were 
well known for their industry, tact, perseverance, 
integrity, courage, economy, thoroughness, punc- 
tuality, decision, and benevolence. Both taught 
school in the backwoods as soon as they knew 
enough to teach. Each of them studied law when 
pursuing another avocation for a livelihood, — Lin- 
coln a surveyor, and Garfield a teacher. Each be- 



PREFACE. 7 

came a member of the legislature in his native 
State before thirty years of age. Both served the 
country in war, when about the same age, — Lin- 
coln in the " Blackhawk War," and Garfield in the 
"War of the Rebellion." Each was the youngest 
member of the legislature, and the youngest officer 
in the army, when he served. The talents and elo- 
quence of both made them members of Congress, — 
Lincoln at thirty-seven years of age, and Garfield 
at thirty -three ; each one of them being the young- 
est member of the House of Representatives at the 
time. Both of them took high rank at once as de- 
baters and eloquent speakers, as well as stalwart 
opposers of slavery. Both, also, won a reputa- 
tion for wit, and humor, and geniality, making them 
popular with both sides of the House. Neither of 
them were candidates in the National Conventions 
that nominated them for the Presidency, — both were 
compromise candidates when it became apparent 
that union could be secured upon no others. Their 
names were introduced amid the wildest enthusiasm ; 
thousands cheering, hats swinging, handkerchiefs 
waving, and the bands playing national airs. The 
nomination of each was hailed with demonstrations 
of joy throughout the country. 

The language which General Garfield applied to 



8 PREFACE. 

Mr. Lincoln, on the floor of the national House of 
Representatives, one year after his assassination, we 
may apply, with equal appropriateness, to Garfield 
himself: 

w His character is aptly described in the words of 
England's great laureate, in which he traces the 
upward steps of some 

" ' Divinely gifted man, 
Whose life in low estate began, 
And on a simple village green. 



" ' Who breaks his birth's invidious bar, 
And grasps the skirts of happy chance, 
And breasts the blow of circumstance, 
And grapples with his evil star. 

" ' Who makes by force his merit known, 
And lives to clutch the golden keys, — 
To mould a mighty State's decrees, 
And shape the whisper of the throne. 

** ' And moving up from high to higher, 
Becomes, on Fortune's crowning slope, 
The pillar of a people's hope, 
The center of a world's desire.' " 

A more inspiring example for the boys of the 
United States to study and imitate cannot be found 
in the annals of our Republic. As a model of 
whatever belongs to noble traits of character, heroic 
achievements, and the highest success fairly won, 
we present him in this book. 



CONTENTS. 



I. 

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL. 

School opens— James must go — The Elder Brother — What 
James knew — Light of Home — How to get James to 
School — Who was Mehetabel ? — Carrying James to School 
on her Back — How this Family came in Woods of Ohio — 
Ancestors of James — Thomas and Abram Garfield — 
Widow Ballon— Abram and Eliza — Moving West — The 
Journey described — Abrarn going West — Meeting Eliza — 
Married —Bride taken to Log-Cabin — Description of 
Cabin— Buys Tract in Orange — Removes there in 1830 — 
Description of the New Cabin — Abram Garfield described 

— " Fire in the Forest " — Sickness and Death in the Cabin 

— Funeral^ Grave in the Wheat-field — Pleasing Incident 
Winter of Desolation —Loneliness and Want, . . Page 21 

II. 

BEFORE SCHOOL-DAYS. 

Advice of a Neighbor — What can be done — Advice from 
Above — Decided to remain — Thomas to run the Farm — 
Progress of Farming — Wolf of Hunger at the Door — Two 
Meals a Day — One Meal a Day — The first Harvest — Mrs. 
Garfield's History — Many Ministers and Talented Men in 
the Family— James' First Pair of Shoes — Shoemakers of 
that day Itinerant — A Christian Couple — Creed of the 
Disciples — A Christian home, 3^ 

9 



IO CONTENTS. 



III. 

GETTING ON. 

The Spinning-wheel — Coming Home from School — Com- 
ments on the School — Ohio Schools described — What 
Books in the Family — The Locality of the School-house 
described — Chagrin Falls — James inquisitive — Question- 
ing the Scholars on the Bible — His remarkable Memory — 
Sharp Observation — Great Imitator — The Winter School 
— James did not go — Long Evenings in the Cabin — James' 
Mother teaching him — The child's Volume — The New 
Idea of Rain — Great Reader — The English-reader — Rev- 
els in books, oo 

IV. 

TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS. 

A New School-house — The Plan accomplished — Teacher 
from New Hampshire — His Appearance — "Boarding 
round" — Making a General of James — What is a Gen- 
eral? — The Revolution — His Great-grandfather in War 

— A Wonderful Revelation to him — Relations between 
Teacher and James — The Strict Rule — Trying to Sit Still 

— A Failure — Mother's Dis-appointment — The Teacher's 
New Idea — The New Trial and Results — Interview with 
Mrs. Garfield — James Nervous and Restive — Kicking off 
the Clothes in Peace — Kicking off the Clothes in War — 
Best Scholar — Won the Testament — Result of Being 
Himself — The Spelling-club and Spelling-matches, . . 57 



V. 

BOY FARMER. 

James at Farming — More Money needed — Plans suggested — 
Teaching in View — The " I Cans " — Swallowing the Egg 
— His Self-reliance — William Carey, the Missionary — 
Not Egotism or Pride — "Where there's a Will, there's a 



CONTENTS. II 

Way"-" God helps those who help themselves"— " Self- 
made, or hever made" — What a Statesman said — What 
James said Forty Years After — Playing in School, and sent 
Home — The Humorous side — Enlarging the Log-Cabin, 72 



VI. 

SUNDAY IN THE WOODS. 

Need of Sabbath in Woods — A Revelation to James — Meet- 
ing-houses and Sabbath Bells — Pioneer Meetings — How 
Families went to Meeting — Itinerant Preachers described 

— Sunday in the Garfield Cabin — The Bible its Preacher — 
James wants to know where it came from — Joseph's Coat 
of many Colors a Puzzle — His singular Inquisitive'ness — 
Influence of the Bible on him —The Temperance Reform 

— James' first Lessons in Temperance — Taught Loyalty to 
Country — Bravery in doing Right — The Den of Lions — 
The Garfield Coat-of-arms — Moral Heroism of his Home 

— Religious Controversies — Baptism — Effect on James — 

A Whig not Baptized, §3 



VII. 

HIGHER UP. 

Change for Thomas — James' Interest — Twenty-one — Emi- 
gration to Michigan —James must Run Farm in place of 
Thomas — A Lonely Cabin — The Scenery about James' 
Home — Speculation and Thomas in Michigan — James 
Runs the Farm — Poverty and Happiness — Hardships — 
Ignorance is Bliss — Work is not Hardship for James — Ex- 
changing Work — Pioneers need Wisdom — Change of 
fourteen Years — Efficiency of James on the Farm — The 
farm his Teacher — George Stephenson — Manhood De- 
veloping — Thoughts of an Education — Man devising, God 
Directing his Steps, 98 



!2 CONTENTS. 



VIII. 

BOY CARPENTER. 

Tom coming Home — Big and Little Brother — Mother and 
Son — Handful of Gold— James wonders — His Mother 
Overcome — The Frame-house — What James can do — Mor- 
tising and Planing — Frame-houses Small and Cheap — 
Sharp Observation — Elbow Grease — The Will and Way- 
Raising the House — Driving Nails — A Failure and its 
Lessons — Orator Mum — Pluck and Luck — Secret Pur- 
pose carried out — Trying — A Job at Carpenter's Work — 
One Hundred boards Planed — First Money earned — An 
Hour of Triumph — All for his Mother, HI 



IX. 

BARN-BUILDING. 

The Carpenter's Call — Learning to Frame a Barn —The Price 

— Doing Things Well — Knowing certainly — Seeing with 
the Brains— Plan of the Barn —Use of Plan or System — 
The Lord's System — System Indispensable — The Barn 
Completed — Fifty Cents a Day— How improved Evenings 

— In Advance of his Teacher — An Incident in School — 
Reading Robinson Crusoe — Its Impression — Reading 
Josephus — Refusal to Break the Sabbath — His Bravery 
to resist Wrong— Kindness to Animals and his Friend 
David — Defending the Little Boy — Another Barn built — 
Same Pay — At School — Another Book, "Alonzo and Me- 
lissa " — Growing Aspirations — Love of Sports — A Stal- 
wart Boy— Trip to Cleveland— The Bully Beaten, . . .131 



X. 

A BLACK-SALTER. 

Colloquy — Weeding Peppermint — " Leading the Gang " — 
Explanation —The Shed built — The Black-salter's Pro- 
posal — Going Home — Colloquy with his Mother — Be- 



CONTENTS. j 3 



comes a Black-salter — What his Work was — His Fidel- 
ity — Discovering the Cheat — Rough Men — The Profane 
Man rebuked — Bad Books in the House — " Pirate's Own 
Book," "Marrvat's Novels," etc. — Worse than Damon's — 
Bad Effects of the Books — Seeds of Evil sown — Wants to 
be a Sailor — Barton's Confidence — James Uneasy — What 
came of a Beau — "Hired Servant" — How it Aroused 
James — Leaves the Saltery, 154 



XL 

A WOOD-CHOPPER. 

Home for Good — Talk with his Mother — Wish to be Some- 
body — Tells Mother of the Sea — Getting a Job — Bar- 
gains to chop a Hundred Cords of Wood — Boards with his 
Sister — Fail View of Lake Erie — The German chopping 
— Lesson of Application and Perseverance — Talk with Sis- 
ter about going to Sea — Two Cords cut every Day — Books 
at Home — Reads Evenings — Completes Job, and goes 
Home — Works four Months for a Farmer — Haying and 
Harvesting — Discussion on Baptism — Talk with Farmer 
about going to Sea — Forty-eight Dollars Pay, .... 171 



XII. 

A CANAL BOY. 

Dissatisfied at Home — Longing for the Sea — A Compro- 
mise — Bound for Lake Erie — Application to Captain of 
a Schooner — Horrible Scene — The Repulse — Musing — 
Call of Captain Letcher — James' Surprise and Bargain — 
The Canal Outfit — Boatmen Rough and Ignorant — His 
first Day as Driver — James and Mules Tumble into Canal 
— An Exciting Scene — The Comical View of it — " Eleven 
Miles Lock" — James Relieved — Catechised by the Cap- 
tain — Captain opposes his going to Sea — Advises him to 
Teach School — Sets James to Thinking, 183 



14 



CONTENTS. 



XIII. 

TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH. 

Locks of Akron — Prospect of a Fight — Capt. Letcher's Call 

— Interference of James — His Decision for Right triumphs 

— Scene at Breakfast — Scene at Beaver — Accident to 
Murphy — Attacks James — Another Triumph for James — 
Harry Brown and Whisky — James' Hostility to Rum and 
Tobacco — Argument with Murphy — Brown's Estimate of 
James — The Steersman's Opinion of James — James pro- 
moted to be Bowman — A Peacemaker — The Captain's 
Opinion of James — No Books — Observation — Fell Four- 
teen Times into the Water — Last Fall into the water Peril- 
ous — Miraculous Deliverance — Good Impressions of it — 
Attacked with Ague — Goes home Sick — Meeting his 
Mother, 198 

XIV. 

THE TURNING-POINT. 

Narrating Experience before retiring — A Pious Mother — Her 
sleeples, joyful Night — Better next Day — Worse again — 
The Doctor called — Tossing with P"ever — Letting out his 
Heart — A Teacher or Preacher — Talk on Religion — Win- 
ter School — Bates the Teacher — Mrs. Garfield's wise 
Course — Mr. Bates' Call — Desire to go to Sea again — A 
Mother's Tactics — No Mystery in Desire for Seafaring Life 

— Two Incidents — Growing Morally — Final Decision to 
get an Education — Turning-point — Great Question settled 

— Pleasing Interview with Dr. Robinson — One poor Suit 

of Clothes— Eleven Dollars all, 213 

XV. 

GEAUGA SEMINARY. 

On the Way to School — Outfit — Application to the Princi- 
pal — Hiring a Room — Boarding themselves — A Free- 
will Baptist Institution — A New Scene for James — Gram- 



CONTENTS. 



15 



mar Class — But and and — Contest with the Teacher — 
A Queer System of Grammar — Fun for the Boys — Suc- 
cess of James at Housekeeping — Looking for Work — Bar- 
gain with a Carpenter — Works before and after School, and 
on Saturdays — The School Library attractive to James — 
Writing Composition — First Appearance on the Stage — 
Reading the Life of Henry C. Wright — A Milk Diet — Pay- 
ing all his Bills — The Debating Society — Foundation of 
his Greatness — Henry Wilson — Buxton — Canning, . . 229 



XVI. 

AFTER VACATION. 

Vacation — Building a Barn for his Mother — A Job with a 
Farmer — Behind Time — Evening Studies — The Lonely 
Ninepence — Horace Mann — Return to the Seminary — 
Giving away the Ninepence — The Milk Diet — The Re- 
sult — A better Diet sought — Fifty Cents a Week the Maxi- 
mum — Talk with Principal about Teaching School — His 
Qualifications for it — A Scrape among the Boys — James 
stands up for the Right — A Profitable Term, .... 243 



XVII. 

KEEPING SCHOOL. 

Looking up a School — Too Young to Teach — The Norton Dis- 
trict — Stopping over-night with the Family — Next Day's 
Experience — Home again, Discouraged — His Mother's 
View of it — Unexpected Call for a Teacher — A Providen- 
tial Offer — Consults Uncle Amos — The wise Decision — 
Excitement in the District — First Day of School — How 
won his Pupils — Summing up of the Winter's Labor — 
Boarding round — At Home on Sundays — Becomes a 
Christian — Returns to the Seminary — Boards with the 
Carpenter — School-keeping the next Winter — Teaching 
Geometry — How his Trousers were torn and mended — 
Close of School, 256 



X 6 CONTENTS. 



XVIII. 
THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 

The New England Graduate — A College Education in View 

— How a Student Works his way in College — His Decision 

— Latin and Greek — Joining the Disciples' Church — His 
Eloquence — A Born Preacher — View of Teachers and 
Scholars — Seeking Work — Amusing Incident with a 
Farmer — Work and Pay — A Query answered — The Anti- 
slavery Conflict — His Hatred of Slavery — Discussion 
against Slavery in the School Lyceum — His Companions 
Jubilant over his Success — The Charming Young Lady and 
James — The Student of Eclectic Institute — James turned 
to it — Closing Connection with Geauga Seminary — His 
First Oration — Journey with his Mother to Muskingum 
County — First Railroad seen — State Capitol — James 
Teaches School at Harrison — Return Home, 270 



XIX. 

THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE. 

Application to Trustees — Colloquy — Engages to ring the 
Bell and Sweep Floors — Hiram Described — Hindsdale's 
View of the School — Interview with the Principal — 
Roomed with four others — Promptness — Doing things 
Well — Talk with his Room-mate — Testimony of another 
Bell-ringer — A woman's Description of him — Most " Pop- 
ular" Student — Why — The Library and Reading — His 
Plan Explained — Importance of Reading Systematically — 
Letter of James Six or Eight Years after — The Spirit 
Stirring within him — Planting Trees on the Campus, and 
their Names — A Female Student Rebuked — The Joke of 
it — His keen Sense of Justice — A Case, . . ... 291 



CONTENTS. i j 



XX. 

STUDENT AND TEACHER. 

Promoted to Teacher — Words of President Hinsdale — 
Shingling a House — James as a Worker — Extent of his 
Carpenter Work — Class of Three in Geometry — Miss 
Booth — In Class with Miss Booth — Their Studies — What 
they Accomplished— A Tribute to her — Discussing his 
Thesis all Night — The Vacation Literary Society — Relig- 
ious Life — Father Bentley — James Preaching — Amusing 
Anecdote — As Public Speaker — In the Lyceum — Fugi- 
tive-slave Bill — Miss Rudolph again — An Important 
Step — In Social Life Valued — Proficient in Mezzotint 
Drawing— Versatility — Popularity as a Teacher — Hins- 
dale's Testimony — Other Witnesses — Bethany or Wil- 
liams College — His Decision, and Why — How the Money 
came — Summary of his Work at Hiram, 307 



XXI. 

IN COLLEGE. 

Appearance before Dr. Hopkins — The Hand-shake — Im- 
pressions of Dr. H. — Enters Junior Class — Spent Vaca- 
tion in Library— Grand Scenery— Explorations — Impres- 
sion he first Made on the Students — An Accurate Scholar 

— Sticking to Things — In role of Debater — Testimony of 
a Classmate as to Standing— German — College Games — 
Williams Quarterly — His Poem —Teaching Penmanship 
in Vacation — Next Vacation in New York — Teacher and 
Preacher — Offered Post in Troy High School — Argu- 
ments For and Against— The Suit of Clothes — Trouble 
about Money— Help Found — Visit to his Mother— Anti- 
slavery Excitement — Charles Sumner — Goodrich's Speech 

— Garfield's Speech on Fremont — A greater one on As- 
sault upon Sumner — Reading— Graduates with Highest 
Honor — Testimony of Dr. Hopkins and President Chad- 
bourne, 3 2 ° 



1 8 CONTENTS. 



XXII. 

RETURN TO HIRAM. 

Teacher of Ancient Languages and Literature — Only Eight 
Years from Tow-path — His Ambition — Heart at Hiram — 
At Head of Institution — Principal — " Capturing Boys " — 
Garfield's Account of two — What President Hinsdale 
says — The Soiled Place on the Wall — The Task and Les- 
son from it — Studying under Compulsion — Punctuality 
and Promptness — Preaching and Practice — Amusing 
scene— The Turning-point of Life — His Numerous Lect- 
ures — Debate with Denton — Testimony of Rev. J. L. 
Darsie — Lectures on Teaching — The Drama — An Imper- 
sonator — Speeches — Studied Law — A Preacher — Mar- 
ried Nov. ii, 1858 — The Books he valued — Commence- 
ment and Roughs — More from Mr. Darsie, 348 



XXIII. 

TOP OF THE LADDER. 

Impressed into Public Life — Speeches for Fremont — Student 
for Companion — Reply to Democratic Orator — Discussion 
with Hart — Offer to send him to the Legislature — Deliv- 
ers Oration at Williams College — His Trip — Offer of the 
State Senatorship — Conference with Faculty and Trustees 

— Nomination, Speech, and Election — Taking his Seat — 
Cox and Monroe — Ranked High at once— Hinsdale's Esti- - 
mate — Rise of Ten Years — Incipient Rebellion in '61 — 
His Courage, Ability, and Eloquence — Abjured "Peace 
Measures " — Advocated Fighting — War Inevitable — His 
Trumpet-call — Mission to Missouri — Organizing Regi- 
ments — Accepts Colonelcy — Made Brigadier-General — 
Made Major-General — Elected Representative to Congress 

— Elected United States Senator — His Speech — Hins- 
dale's Remarks on — Highest Round of Ladder but One 
— Steps to the Top — Enthusiasm over his Nomination for 
President — His Election from Log-cabin to White House, 365 



CONTENTS. jg 



XXIV. 
INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 

Boyhood in Manhood — The Bible and the War — Letter to a 
friend — Tact and Thoroughness in Drilling Men — Char- 
tering the Engine — His First Scout — An old Canal-boat 
Companion turns up — Second Scout — The Hundred Hi- 
ram Students — Incidents of their Daring — The Turn of 
Battle — President Lincoln's Verdict — Famous Sail up the 
Big Sandy — Overcomes the Rebel Captain and the Tor- 
rent — What Became of Brown — His Famous Ride through 
a Shower of Bullets — The Fugitive-slave Safe with him — 
His Battle in Congress for a Draft — His Reply to the 
Traitor, Alexander Long — His Fearless Self-defence in a 
Convention — Another Example of his Courage — How 
met Rotten Eggs — Controlling the 50.000 Men after Death 
of Lincoln — Scholar and Orator — His Original Maxims 
and Striking Sentiments, 383 




I. 




FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL. 

RUMOR came to the log-cabin that a 
school would open soon at the village, 
one-and-a-half miles distant. It was only 
a rumor at first, but the rumor grew into 
fact in the course of a week. 

"Jimmy must go, mother," said Thomas, who was 
nearly thirteen years old, a boy of heroic spirit and 
true filial and fraternal devotion. 

"Yes, Jimmy must go," responded his mother, 
with such a smile as lights up the face of those 
mothers only who think what a treasure and joy 
there is in the little three-year-old ; for Jimmy had 
not yet reached his fourth birthday. " I wish you 
could go, Tom, also," she added. 

"I wish I could, too," the thoughtful lad replied; 
"but the potatoes would hardly be dug, and the corn 
would hardly be harvested, nor the winter rye be 
put in, if I should go. The girls and Jimmy can go, 
and my work will get us food and clothes." The 
last sentence was spoken with so much interest, as 
if the son and brother found his highest pleasure in 

21 



22 LOG-CABIN 70 WHITE HOUSE. 

being able to run the little farm alone, while his sis- 
ters and precious little brother could attend school 
together, that his good mother could- scarcely sup- 
press her honest pride over the unselfish and noble 
boy. Her maternal pride came very near making 
a demonstration and applying some pet names to 
Thomas, but her excellent judgment, which usually 
ruled, guided her into a wiser course, and she let the 
occasion pass with only a few well-chosen words of 
approval. 

" It is a good chance for Jimmy," added Thomas, 
after a moment had passed, in which remark his 
mother saw the " heap " of love he had for his little 
brother; and every one else would see it now, too, 
could they understand the circumstances. More 
than one person had remarked that Thomas thought 
a " heap" of James. 

It was a busy time in the cabin, preparing the 
children for school. The girls and Thomas went 
to school before the family removed to Orange, so 
that it was not a new thing to them. Besides, their 
mother had taught them much. She had made no 
special effort to teach James, except to tell him Bible 
stories, and answer his multitudinous questions in her 
instructive way. Still James knew nearly all his 
letters, and was better versed in Bible history than 
most children of his age at the present day. The 
stories of the Ark, Cain and Abel, Joseph, Ishmael, 
Isaac, Jacob, Absalom, Daniel, the Bethlehem Babe, 
and many others, were familiar to him at that time. 
The little fellow possessed a remarkable memory, 



FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL 2 , 



and he was bright and sunny, the light and joy of 
the log-cabin. It would not suffice to say that his 
mother thought that he was particularly a bright 
and talented boy ; for mothers are quite apt to think 
very well of their offspring. But when we add that 
Thomas and his sisters, and the neighbors also, re- 
garded James as a very precocious and promising lad, 
the reader may safely conclude that the hero of this 
volume was none of your simple-minded " children 
of the woods " — neither a juvenile drone nor igno- 
ramus. He was just the little fellow to make music 
at home or in the school-house. 

"Jimmy can't walk half the way," said Thomas; 
" he will be tired to death before he hardly gets out 
of sight of home." 

t? I'll see to that," replied his sister, with an air of 
assurance that indicated her plans were all laid. 
"Jimmy won't be tired." 

f What is going to prevent it?" inquired Thomas. 
f You'll see," answered his sister, somewhat eva- 
sively, though Thomas knew by her appearance 
that there was real significance in what she said. 

rt Well, what's up now," added Thomas, sure that 
some project was in her head. 

"Nothing is up, except Jimmy; he will be uf — 
on my back," answered the brave girl, who had re- 
solved to spare her lively little brother's legs by car- 
rying him to school. 

" Carry Jimmy to school ! " exclaimed Thomas ; 
"you will be more tired than he will be to walk. It 
is a bigger load than our great-grandfather carried 
in the Revolutionary war. You'll get sick of that." 



24 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" It won't be the first thing I am sick of that I have 
done," was all the girl's reply. 

We did not mean to tell this resolute maid's unpo- 
etical name ; but we desire to say something about 
her, and so we must tell her name. It was Mehet- 
abel. The name was load enough to carry to 
school without adding the burden of Jimmy. Me- 
hetabel was fifteen years old, just such a strapping 
girl as would grow up in the woods, among tall 
trees ; but she did not merit such a name as that. It 
set upon her better at fifteen than it could have done 
in babyhood, undoubtedly. Just think of a baby 
bearing the name of Mehetabel ! We have looked 
for its origin, and find that it belongs to the old Jew- 
ish dispensation, and ought to have been dumped 
into oblivion with its lumbering ceremonials. But, 
somehow, it slid over into the new dispensation, and 
after the lapse of eighteen hundred years and more 
it now confronts us in Ohio ! 

Well, the first day of school arrived, and Mehet- 
abel took her two burdens — her name and broth- 
er — an d trudged off to school. Jimmny was mightily 
pleased with his new mode of conveyance, and so 
were the whole family ; and they made a jolly 
morning of it in starting off the pioneer troupe, who 
were only forty-six years distant from the White 
House. The log-cabin smiled as it had not smiled 
since that terrible day of sorrow, of which we shall 
soon speak. Thomas was the happiest boy in Ohio 
on that blessed morning, although he did not know 
it ; and he went to work with fresh vigor and deter- 



FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL. 



25 



mination, splendid fellow that he was. While the 
children are in school, and Thomas is driving work 
on the farm, and the good mother is having a lonely 
day in the cabin, with her spinning-wheel, we will 
stop to tell how this family came to be in the woods 
of Ohio, and add some definite information about 
the father. 

In the year 1799 Thomas Garfield was a farmer 
in Worcester, Otsego County, N. Y. That year a 
son was born to him, to whom he gave the name of 
Abram. Thirty-two years afterwards, this son 
Abram became the father of James A. Garfield.* 

Before Abram was two years old, his father sud- 
denlv sickened and died, leaving his wife and 
several children penniless, — a sorrow that was sin- 
gularly repeated in the life of Abram, who died, as 
we shall see, whem James was less than two years 
of age, leaving his wife and four children to battle 
with the hardships of life: It was not possible for 
Abram's mother to keep the family together and 
provide for so many mouths ; so a neighbor, James 
Stone, took Abram into his family, and reared him 
as one of his own children. 

When the lad was ten years old, widow Ballou 
removed into the neighborhood, from New Hamp- 
shire. Mrs. Ballou had a. daughter, Eliza, about a 
year younger than Abram, a very bright, promis- 
ing girl. Abram and Eliza became playmates, and 
thought very much of each other. 

Eliza was fourteen years old when her mother 

*Just elected President of the United States. 



26 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

conceived the idea of emigrating to Ohio, which 
was then the " Far West," and great stories were 
told about its prolific soil and future wealth. Emi- 
grants from New York, and also from the New 
England States, were removing thither in consider- 
able numbers. James Ballou, her son, now a young 
man, saw emigrant wagons passing through New 
York, or starting from it, their destination being 
Ohio, and became more enthusiastic than his mother 
to go. At last she decided to remove thither, sold 
her little farm, packed her household goods into an 
emigrant wag-on , and with her children started for 
the West. Abram was a lonely boy when Eliza left, 
and the two separated regretfully. 

It was a long and tiresome journey of six weeks, — 
a trip that could be accomplished now in twelve 
hours. The family were in the wagon, except when 
the wagon was stuck in the mud, and they were 
compelled to unload, and, with levers, lift it out. 
The roads were fearfully bad, without a bridge over 
a single river ; so they had streams to ford, sw^amps 
to wade, and quagmires to avoid, enough to test the 
courage and patience of the most experienced woman 
and the bravest girl. On the way James shot game, 
so that there was no lack of food. At length they 
reached Zanesville, Muskingum County, one of the 
oldest settlements in Ohio at that time ; and there 
they settled. 

About five years later Abram Garfield took the 
"Ohio fever," as it was called, or else the memory 
of the fair-haired maiden inspired him to nobler 



FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL. 



27 



deeds, and he, too, started for the West, — a young 
man of twenty years, hopeful, fearless, ambitious, 
and smart. He found work in Newburg, near Cleve- 
land. Cleveland was then only a small collection of 
log-cabins, containing about one hundred people. 
Newburg was newer and more isolated. But, for 
some reason, the young adventurer selected the latter 
place for his home. 

It is quite evident that he not only worked, but 
cast about to learn something of the maiden he could 
not forget. For he learned, after a time, that the 
Ballou family were at Zanesville, whither he wended 
his way on a visit, as soon as possible. The family 
gave him a hearty greeting, especially Eliza, who 
had grown into a winsome damsel of almost nineteen. 
That Abram was glad to see her would be a tame 
way of stating the fact. If Eliza had constituted all 
the ?r Far West " there was at that time, Abram would 
have been fascinated by the country, making no ac- 
count at all of New York in the comparison. With- 
out stretching out the tale into a r long yarn," it will 
suffice to say, that Eliza just filled Abram's eye, and 
in less than two years from that time became his wife. 
They were married February 3, 1821, and repaired 
at once to his chosen home, Newburg, where a log- 
cabin, eighteen by twenty feet, containing but one 
room, awaited them. It was a very humble abode, 
but true love put as much happiness into it as could 
have been there if it had been a palace. The cabin 
was destitute of sash or glass, though places for 
three windows, covered with greased paper, admit- 



2 8 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



ted light. Greased paper was a common substitute 
for glass, and was the "stained-glass" of that day. 
The furniture was manufactured by her noble hus- 
band, of whom she was as proud as he was of her ; 
and it was the latest style of that region, therefore 
fashionable. It consisted of several three-legged 
stools, a puncheon table, a bed in one comer, con- 
structed of poles and slabs, a frying-pan, one iron 
pot, two wooden plates, with knives and forks to 
match, and a "Dutch oven," which was simply a 
kettle with a rimmed cover, on which live coals were 
laid. Here James A. Garfield's father began life in 
earnest, and here he lived nine years, during which 
time three of his children were born. He tilled the 
soil, and also at two different times took contracts 
on the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal, which was in 
process of construction. 

The young adventurer was not satisfied, however. 
His growing family demanded larger provision for 
the future, so he purchased fifty acres of land, at 
two dollars an acre, in Orange, Cuyahoga County, 
seventeen miles from the first home of his wedded 
life. He selected this locality because Amos Boyn- 
ton, whose wife was sister to Mrs. Garfield, had pur- 
chased a tract there ; and the families could remove 
thither together. One log-cabin was erected first, 
in which both families lived, thick as "three in a 
bed," until another cabin could be built. When 
these cabins were built the nearest neighbor was 
seven miles away. It was January, 1830, when 
Abram Garfield removed to this new home in the 



FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL. 2 Q 



wilderness. His cabin was larger and more substan- 
tial than the one he left. It was twenty by thirty 
feet, made of unhewn logs, notched and laid one 
upon another, in what boys call the "cob-house" 
style, to the height of twelve feet or more in front, 
and eight feet or more on the back side. The spaces 
between the logs were filled with clay or mud, mak- 
ing a warm abode for winter, and a cool one for 
summer. 

The chimney was constructed of wood and mud, 
rising from the roof like a pyramid, smallest at the 
top. The roof was covered with slabs, held in place 
by long weight-poles. The floor was made of logs, 
each split into two parts and laid the flat side up, 
hewn smooth with an axe. There was a loft above, 
to which the family ascended by a sort of perma- 
nent ladder in one corner of the cabin. The chil- 
dren slept upon the floor of the loft, on straw beds. 
The only door of the dwelling was made of plank ; 
and three small windows furnished all the light pos- 
sible, though not so much as was needed. This, 
briefly, was the pioneer home in which James A. 
Garfield was born, on the 19th day of November, 
1831, and from which he went forth to his first day 
at school, as already described. 

Abram Garfield was a tall, heavy, handsome man, 
capable of great endurance ; just the man to plunge 
into a wilderness to make a home and clear land 
for a farm. He possessed the strength, will, and 
wisdom for such an enterprise. His brain was in 
fair proportion to his body, large and active, making 



30 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



him a strong-minded man ; and, under other and 
more favorable circumstances, he might have made 
a broad and deep mark on his day and generation. 
But he thought of little except his family in that day 
of hardship and want, and so he chose a home and 
occupation where honor and fame were out of tjie 
question. But, with all his physical strength, the 
loving husband and father was not exempt from the 
attacks of disease. One day, in the midst of his 
hard toil, he heard the alarm of "Fire in the forest." 
Forest fires were common in summer time, and often 
larcfe tracts of woods were burned over ; and some- 
times pioneer cabins were destroyed, and the crops 
on little farms in the wilderness were injured. 

"It is coming this way certainly," said Mr. -Gar- 
field with some anxiety, after satisfying himself as 
to the danger. " I'm afraid it will make trouble for 
us. Mehetabel, run to the house with my axe, and 
bring me the shovel." 

The girl was assisting her father. Within five 
minutes Mr. Garfield had the shovel, and Mrs. 
Garfield, and all the children except the baby, were 
out to watch the fire. 

"We must fight it," said Mr. Garfield, "or only 
ashes will be left of our home at sundown." 

"I fear as much," replied Mrs. Garfield. ' x These 
forest fires are terrible." 

" Mehetabel, you and Thomas follow me ; " and 
he ran across the house-lot to the edge of the woods 
to prevent the fiery demon from attacking his hab- 
itation. 



FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL. 3I 



Thomas and his sister followed. The fire reached 
the spot almost as soon as they did, and the battle 
with it began. It was a long and hard fight. Mr. 
Garfield met the enemy with all the vigor of a fa- 
ther contending for his children. He fully realized 
what their situation would be if the sun should go 
down upon the ruins of their home, and the thought 
impelled him to superhuman efforts. For nearly 
two hours, in the burning sun of a hot July day, he 
fought the fire with his strong arm. Sometimes the 
battle seemed to turn in favor of the fiery element, 
and again the resolute pioneer appeared to have the 
advantage over it. At last, however, the fire was 
conquered, or rather, was prevented from devouring 
the little cabin and desolating the crops, though it 
swept on beyond the farm, whither the wind drove it. 

Thoroughly heated and exhausted, Mr. Garfield 
sat down upon a stump to rest, and enjoy the cool, 
refreshing breeze that sprang up from the West. 
He did not dream that he was exposing his health 
by sitting, covered with perspiration, in that cool 
wind. But that night he was seized violently by 
congestion of the throat, and his stout frame writhed 
in pain, threatening speedy dissolution. As early 
in the morning as possible, Mehetabel was posted 
away to Mr. Boynton's, and Thomas to a neighbor 
in another direction, for their assistance. There 
was no physician within many miles ; but one of 
the neighbors summoned claimed to possess some 
medical knowledge, and the patient was passed 
over into his hands, substantially, after he arrived. 



32 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



He applied a blister, thereby aggravating the dis- 
ease, and hurrying the sick man to his grave. Mrs. 
Garfield did all that true love and remarkable effi- 
ciency could do to save her husband, but her tender 
and faithful ministrations were fruitless ; he sank 
rapidly, and at last died without a struggle. His 
last words were, looking upon his children, and 
then addressing his wife : 

" I have planted four saplings in these woods ; I 
must now leave them to your care." 

Oh, what a dark pall settled upon that abode ! A 
happier family never dwelt in a palace than was 
found in that cabin. And now the burden of sor- 
row that rested upon the widowed wife and fatherless 
children was gauged by the greatness of bereaved 
affection. Little James was but eighteen months 
old when his father died — too young to understand 
the irreparable loss, or to feel the pangs of grief 
that well-nigh crushed other hearts. It was well 
that his baby-spirit could not take in the sorrow of 
that hour ; there was anguish enough in that stricken 
home without adding his touching wail thereto. 

The neighbors came, what few there were (only 
four or five families within a radius often miles), 
and sympathized and wept with the widow and 
fatherless ones. With their assistance the lifeless 
remains were enclosed in a rough box, and borne 
out through the low doorway, and buried in a cor- 
ner of the wheat-field, near by. No sermon, no re- 
marks, no prayers, except the silent prayers that 
went up for grace from aching hearts ! Reader, 



FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL. 33 

you will never know, you never can know, nobody 
can ever know, except by the dreadful experience, 
what the death and burial of a loved one is in the 
wilderness, amid the gloom and silence of primeval 
forests. That bereaved widow still lives, and after 
the lapse of nearly fifty years she bears the marks 
of that great sorrow. A kind Providence that "tem- 
pers the wind to the shorn lamb *' has wonderfully 
sustained her, and she has found her Saviour to be as 
" the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." Still 
the brow of almost eighty years is furrowed by the 
severity of that affliction. 

An incident should be recorded here. It occurred a 
short time before Mr. Garfield's death ; and he was 
reading a volume of Plutarch's "Lives," with James 
in his lap. The latter could speak the words, 
"papa," "mamma," and others. "Say Plutarch," 
said his father. James repeated it very distinctly. 
" Say it again," continued Mr. Garfield. James re- 
peated it plainly, as before, and continued to repeat 
it. Looking up to his wife, Mr. Garfield remarked, 
with a true father's love and pride, " Eliza, this boy 
will be a scholar some day ! " 

Winter was approaching ; and winter in the wil- 
derness, especially when the stalwart arm upon 
which loved ones depend for support and defence 
is palsied in death, is not calculated to dispel gloom 
from a dwelling. Could human experience be more 
dreary than when a woman is left a widow, alone 
with her children, in a wilderness swept by wintry 
storms ; and that affliction intensified by extreme 

3 



34 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



poverty, so that economy and careful planning are 
needful to keep the wolf of hunger from the door? 
What a winter it was ! The snow lay deep and 
heavy upon the earth, burying the sacred mound in 
the corner of the wheat-field out of sight, and the high 
winds moaned through the naked forests as if wail- 
ing for the dead. The howl of wolves and the cry 
of panthers never sounded so terrible as they did 
during those long, desolate, wintry nights. The 
children, realizing the loneliness of their situation, 
now that their strong protector was dead, would lie 
awake at night to listen tremblingly to the howls 
and cries of these hungry animals, at the very door 
of their cabin. Sometimes it seemed to them that 
the panthers knew their courageous father was ly- 
ing dead in the wheat-field, and so they ventured to 
come to the very door to moan and cry, as famishing 
children cry for bread. Baby James, however, slept 
on, oblivious alike to the sorrows and perils of the 
hour. God was keeping him against the night of 
national danger, when he would listen to the yell of 
the wolves of plunder at the door of the republic. 
That winter, alone in the almost pathless forest, 
with the warring elements and beasts of prey unit- 
ing to make desolation more desolate, could not 
have had more sad thoughts, bitter tears, hours of 
loneliness, and blasted hopes, crow r ded into it than 
were the natural outcome of the direful situation. 

It seemed to the weary ones that spring would 
never return ; but it did, after a long, never-to-be- 
forgotten winter. And spring swept the snow r and 



FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL. 



35 



ice, and the streams ran singing again, and the dead 
things of the field and forest returned to life, save 
only the dead in the corner of the wheat-field. 
There was no resurrection there ; and so hope was 
not revived in the cabin, and a gloomy outlook 
made even spring-time sad. There was no money 
in the house, and there was a debt on the farm. 
Food, also, was running low ; and the widowed 
mother might hear her children cry for bread. 
What could she do? Leaving the children still at 
at school, we will continue the story of her suffer- 
ings. 




II. 



BEFORE SCHOOL-DAYS. 




N her strait Widow Garfield sought the 
advice of neighbor Boynton, whose real 
kindness had been a solace to her heart. 
He said : 

"No woman with four children can carry on a 
farm like this alone, and support her family. I see 
no possible way out of your trouble except to sell 
your place and return to your friends." 

"And leave my husband in the wheat-field? " re- 
sponded Mrs. Garfield. "Never; I can't do that." 

" But what else can you do?" continued the neigh- 
bor. 

Looking at the circumstances squarely, with her 
accustomed good sense and courageous spirit, she 
answered : 

"When I have sold, paid the debts and the ex- 
pense of removal to my friends, I shall have little or 
nothing left, and that, too, without a rod of land on 
which to raise corn to make a loaf." 

"Your friends could help you," suggested the 
neighbor. 

36 



BEFORE SCHOOLDAYS. 37 

" I can never cast myself upon the charity of 
friends," Mrs. Garfield replied, with an emphasis 
that showed she meant what she said. "So long as 
I have my health I believe that my Heavenly Father 
will bless these two hands so as to support my chil- 
dren. My dear husband made this home at the sac- 
rifice of his life, and every log in this cabin is sacred 
to me now. It seems to me like a holy trust, that 
I must preserve as faithfully as I would guard his 
grave." 

The heroism that came out through these words 
was worthy of a Revolutionary matron ; and the 
woman's fortitude fairly drew tears from the eyes of 
the neighbor. 

"Then you would not sell your farm any way?" 
added the neighbor, inquiringly. 

" Not all of it," she replied. " Part of it might 
go ; enough to pay the debt." 

"I never thought of that," answered the neighbor. 
" Perhaps that is the way out of your trouble. Better 
think that over, and I will. I'll look about, too, and 
see what can be done by way of selling a part of it." 

The neighbor left, and Mrs. Garfield went imme- 
diately to a greater than he, where she had often 
been in her want and woe for counsel. On her 
knees in one corner of the cabin she laid her case 
before God, and promised to follow His guidance if 
He would only make duty plain. God did make it 
plain as day to her. She arose from her knees 
without a doubt in her heart. She was happier than 
she had been any time since death darkened her 



38 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

home. She felt like singing the twenty-seventh 
Psalm : " The Lord is my light and my salvation ; 
whom shall I fear? the lord is the strength of my 
life; of whom shall I be afraid?" 

Calling Thomas, who was not quite eleven years 
old, but now the only male dependence on the farm, 
she laid the case before him, as if he had been a 
man of thirty years, and the resolute and trusty boy 
replied : 

"I can plow and plant, mother. I can sow the 
wheat, too, and cut the wood, milk the cows, and do 
heaps of things for you." 

"You are a small boy to do so much," responded 
his mother ; " but with my help perhaps it can be 
done. God has promised to be with the widow and 
fatherless. I don't feel that I can move away from 
this place." 

"We needn't," Thomas said, quickly. "I want 
to live here, and I will work real hard." 

"Not too hard, my son, lest there be two graves 
instead of one in the corner of the wheat-field," an- 
swered Mrs. Garfield, with much emotion. :t We 
must finish the fence around the wheat, and that will 
be very hard work ; but I think that I can split the 
rails, and together we can set the fence." 

"And I can finish the barn, I know," added 
Thomas. His father had partially fenced the wheat- 
field, and had been putting up a small barn, which 
was nearly completed. 

And so the whole subject was canvassed, and plans 
laid, in the full expectation of remaining on the pio- 



BEFORE SCHOOLDAYS. 39 



neer farm. Nor did the widow have to wait long to 
sell a portion of her land. Settlers were coming 
into that part of Ohio occasionally, and one of them 
heard, through the neighbor spoken of, that Mrs. 
Garfield would dispose of part of her land. He 
lost no time in finding her humble abode, and at 
once bargained with her for twenty acres, paying 
cash for the same. With this money she paid all 
the debts, although it took the last dollar to remove 
this incumbrance. 

Spring was fairly upon them when the sale was 
effected, so that she and Thomas proceeded at once 
to put the little farm in order. He procured a horse 
of the nearest neighbor, who was generous enough 
to offer him the use of the animal, and prepared the 
ground for wheat, corn, and potatoes, and a small 
garden for vegetables. It was truly wonderful to 
witness the tact and endurance of this boy-farmer of 
ten years, toiling from early morning till night set 
in, his young heart bounding with delight over his 
ability to assist his widowed mother. Without any 
assistance, except such as his mother, and sister of 
twelve years, rendered, he did the planting and 
sowing in a style that assured a good harvest in the 
autumn. 

At the same time his mother prepared the fence 
for the wheat-field. She found trees in the forest 
already felled, and she split the rails, every one of 
them, severe as the labor was, sometimes almost 
exhausting her strength, and always making a large 
draft upon her nerves. But the necessity was laid 



4 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



upon her, and she stopped not to inquire, as she 
did in the case of Thomas, whether there might 
not be another grave in the wheat-field at no distant 
period. Before July the house-lot, which was the 
small plat of cleared land sowed and planted, was 
fenced in, and the little farm was doing well. There 
was no school for Thomas and his sisters to attend, 
so that he had all the time there was from morning 
until night to labor, and wait — wait for the seed to 
grow. He did his work, apparently, with as much 
ease and efficiency as a young man of twenty would 
have done it. 

But another trial awaited the afflicted family. Food 
was becoming scarce, and no money to purchase 
more. An examination satisfied the widow that the 
corn would be exhausted long before harvest unless 
the family were put upon a daily allowance. So, 
without speaking of this new trial to her children, 
she counted the number of weeks and days to har- 
vest-time, and estimated the amount of corn that 
would be required each day. To her surprise and 
grief, a fair daily allowance would exhaust the bin 
of corn before harvest. She took in the situation at 
once, and, bravely and quickly as a general on the 
field of battle, decided she would forego supper her- 
self that the children might have enough. For a 
while the devoted mother lived upon two meals 
a day, though working harder than she had ever 
worked any previous summer ; for she assisted 
Thomas on the farm to the extent of her strength, 
and even beyond her strength. 



BEFORE SCHOOLDAYS. 4I 

A few weeks elapsed, and the doting mother dis- 
covered some mistake in her calculations, and she 
was startled to find that present daily allowance of 
corn would consume the last ear before the new 
crop could be gathered. Without a murmur, and 
with a martyr spirit, she resolved to forego dinner ; 
and from that time until harvest she indulged in 
but one meal a day. All this self-denial was prac- 
ticed in a manner to conceal it as much as possible 
from the children. They were growing and hearty, 
and Thomas especially needed substantial food, since 
he was doing almost a man's labor. Seldom was a 
pioneer family found in more straitened circum- 
stances in mid-summer than was Widow Garfield's 
in the year 1834. ^ a< ^ not ^ ie spirit of a Revolution- 
ary matron presided over that cabin, and the grace 
of Him who does not suffer a sparrow to fall without 
his notice sustained the presiding genius, the history 
of that family would have closed that year in the 
forests of Ohio. 

But the harvest came, and a blessed harvest it 
was ! The crops were abundant, and of excellent 
quality. Want fled at the sight of the bending 
sheaves and golden ears. The dear mother had 
come off conqueror in her long contest with the wolf 
of hunger, and her heart overflowed with gratitude 
to the Great Giver. The twenty-third Psalm had 
new significance in that log-cabin, — "The Lord is 
my shepherd, I shall not want," etc., — and the 
grateful mother repeated it over and over, from day 
to day, as the real language of her soul in the hour 



42 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



of deliverance from distressing want. The first full 
meal which the abundant harvest brought was a 
benison to that household, and never again did hun- 
ger and starvation threaten to destroy them. 

We have told the reader somewhat about the 
father of this family, and now that so much has been 
said of the mother we need to say more. We stop 
here to record briefly some facts of her early history. 

She w r as a descendant of Maturin Ballou, a Hu- 
guenot of France, who was driven from that country 
on the revocation of the edict of Nantes. He joined 
the colony of Roger Williams and came to America, 
settling in Cumberland, R. I. There he built a 
church, which still stands, and is carefully pre- 
served as a relic of the past. It is known as the 
"Elder Ballou Meeting-house." When it was built 
there were no saw-mills in the country, and no nails, 
and few tools to work with, so that the old " meeting- 
house " is a great curiosity. Its galleries and pews 
are hewn out of solid logs, and put together with 
wooden pegs. Even its floor was hewn out of logs, 
and fastened down with wooden pegs. Here Ma- 
turin Ballou preached the gospel while he lived, 
and was followed by his son, then his grandson, 
then his great-grandson, and so on to the tenth 
generation. A race of preachers sprang from this 
pioneer minister. In one family of the Ballous the 
father and four sons were clergymen ; then followed 
three grandsons, one great-grandson, and one great- 
great-grandson, all from one branch. There were 
also many lawyers, doctors, and other public men 



BEFORE SCHOOLDAYS. 43 

among the Ballous, eminent for their talents and 
remarkable force of character. Some of them fig- 
ured in the American Revolution, both as officers 
and privates, as heroic and efficient in war as they 
were renowned in peace. They were a conscien- 
tious people, and one of them, who preached in the 
old meeting-house about the year 1775, would not 
receive any salary for his services. He protested 
against being a " hireling." And yet he was so poor 
that one of his sons was forced to learn to write upon 
"birch-bark, in lieu of paper, and use charcoal, in- 
stead of pen and ink." This son was the celebrated 
Hosea Ballou, founder of Universalism in the United 
States. His father broke away from the Cumber- 
land fold before Hosea was born, and removed to 
New Hampshire, where he settled. A cousin, 
James Ballou, emigrated thither with him, married, 
and became the father of Eliza Ballou, who, as we 
have seen, is the mother of James A. Garfield. 

It is not difficult; therefore, to discover the origin 
of Mrs. Garfield's (mother of James) great fortitude, 
indomitable perseverance, tact, talents, and large 
executive ability. Were she otherwise, she would 
not fairly represent the long line of illustrious ances- 
tors whose record is found upon two hundred years, 
and more, of our nation's history. 

In the spring of 1835, a family moved into the 
vicinity, which proved of great benefit to the Gar- 
fields. They had sewing to be done, and Mrs. Gar- 
field was glad of the opportunity to do it. A boy 
was needed, also, to plough and chop occasionally. 



44 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



and Thomas found it a good opportunity to earn a 
little money for his mother. It was additional sun- 
shine let into the log-cabin. 

It was an era when Thomas brought home the 
first money that he earned. A happier boy never 
crossed a threshold than he was when he handed 
the avails of his labor to his mother, saying : 

"Now the shoemaker can come and make Jimmy 
a pair of shoes." 

" Certainly," answered his mother ; " and he will 
be indebted to you for the first pair of shoes that he 
ever wore. You'll never be sorry." 

"I never expect to be sorry," replied Thomas. 
"Jimmy ought to have had a pair a long time ago, 
and he would have had a pair if there had been any 
way for me to earn them." 

"Well, you can send word to the shoemaker as 
soon as you please," continued his mother; "the 
quicker the better." 

James was three and a half years old at that time, 
and he had not known the luxury of a pair of shoes, 
no, not even in the winter. To come into the pos- 
session of the first pair of shoes in these circum- 
stances, was an event of great importance. To a 
child in the woods, it was like the accession of a 
fortune to a poor man now. Be assured, reader, 
that Jimmy greeted the advent of the shoemaker 
with hearty good-will when he came ; and he came 
very soon after the shoe question was settled, for 
Thomas lost no time in securing his services. 

Then, in that part of the country, shoemakers did 



BEFORE SCHOOLDAYS. 45 

not have shops of their own, but they went from 
cabin to cabin, boarding with the families while 
they were making shoes for the members. In this 
case the cobbler boarded with Mrs. Garfield, and his 
board paid part of the cost of the shoes. Shoe- 
makers were not experts in the business at that 
time and in that region, so they required much more 
time to produce a pair of shoes ; and when they 
were completed, no one could say that their beauty 
added to their value. They answered every pur- 
pose, however, in a region where fashion was at 
a discount. 

The acquisition of that pair of shoes elated the 
little possessor more than an election to Congress 
did less than thirty years thereafter. He was rich 
now, and well equipped for pioneer life. He could 
defy the snows of winter as well as the stubs of 
summer. 

One thing more should be told here. Abram 
Garfield and his noble wife were Christians. Before 
removing to Orange they united with a compara- 
tively new sect, called Disciples, though Campbell- 
ites was a name by which they were sometimes 
known, in honor of the founder of the sect, Alex- 
ander Campbell. Their creed was very short, plain, 
and good. It was as follows : 

1. A belief in God the Father. 

2. That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living 
God, the only Saviour. 

3. That Christ is a Divine Being. 



46 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

4. That the Holy Spirit is the Divine agent in the 
conversion of sinners, and in guidance and direction. 

5. That the Old and New Testament Scriptures 
are inspired of God. 

6. That there is future punishment for the wicked, 
and reward for the righteous. 

7. That God hears and answers prayer. 

8. That the Bible is the only creed. 

With such decided opinions, of course their cabin 
home was dedicated to God, and the Bible was the 
counsellor and guide of their life. The voice of 
prayer was heard daily in the rude abode, and the 
children were reared under the influence of Chris- 
tian instruction and living. 

It has taken us so long to relate the history of this 
family previous to Jimmy's first day at school, that 
we must now hasten to meet the children, on their 
return, as told in the next chapter. 




III. 



GETTING ON. 




RS. GARFIELD was making her spin- 
ning-wheel hum when the children came 
home. She was obliged to economize 
her time in order to clothe her family 
with goods of her own manufacture. The spinning- 
wheel and loom were just as indispensable to pio- 
neers, at that time, as a " Dutch oven " was. The 
age of factories had not come, certainly not in that 
part of the country. In New England, even, factories 
were in their infancy then, — small affairs. 

* f Oh, such a jjood time as we have had!" ex- 
claimed Mehetabel, as she came rushing into the 
cabin with James and her sister. 

"Twenty-one scholars," added her sister, under 
considerable excitement. " Mr. Sander's children 
were there, and they have twice as far to go as we 
have. They have to walk over three miles." 

" x\nd how did Jimmy get on at school? " inquired 
their mother, as soon as there was a place for her to 
put in a word. 

47 



4 8 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" He liked it," answered Mehetabel ; " he said his 
letters ; and he asked the master how he knew that 
letter was R." 

"Just like him," ejaculated Thomas, laughing out- 
right. Thomas had just come in, leaving his work 
when he saw the children return. "The master will 
have enough to do to answer all his questions. What 
did the master tell him? " 

" He told him that he learned it was R at school, 
when he was about as old as he was," replied Mehet- 
abel. And Thomas was giving Jimmy a toss in the 
air, by way of sport, while she was relating the 
facts, and Jimmy himself was making a most vigor- 
ous attempt to embellish the occurrences of the day 
from his imperfect vocabulary. 

" How did you like your ride, Jimmy? " inquired 
Thomas. 

" Me like it," was the child's answer, uttered in a 
gleeful way. 

"You liked it better than Hit did, I guess." 

" I liked it well enough," responded Mehetabel. 

" Wa'nt you awful tired? " 

" I wa'nt tired much." 

" Did you carry him all the way ? " 

"Pretty much. He walked a little of the way 
home. He isn't much of a load." 

" Did he sit still in school? " 

"Pretty still. He left his seat once, and went 
over to scrape the acquaintance of another boy 
opposite." 

" What did the master say ? " 



GETTING ON. 



49 



" He took him by the hand and led him back, 
looking at us, and smiling ; and he told him that 
each boy and girl had his own seat in school, and he 
must keep it." 

" You are a great one, Jimmy," exclaimed Thomas, 
tossing the little midget into the air again. " You will 
make -music for them in school." 

"Well, children, I am glad that you like your 
school so well," remarked their mother, who had 
been listening to the prattle with maternal interest. 
" You must make the most of it, too, for we can't ex- 
pect many school advantages in these woods. Poor 
opportunities are better than none." 

Ohio schools were of the poorest class then, short 
and miserable. The teachers knew but little to be- 
gin with, and children had to travel so far to school 
that their attendance was limited to certain parts of 
the year. In many schools reading, spelling, and 
writing were the only branches taught. Geography 
and arithmetic were added to the studies in some 
schools. All of these branches were pursued in the 
school which the Garfield children attended. 
Teachers in the new settlements, at that time, were 
usuallv males ; it was not supposed that females 
could teach school well. That females make the 
best teachers, as a class, is a recent discovery. 

The books used in the best pioneer schools of 
Ohio were Webster's Spelling-book, the English 
Reader, Pike's and Adams' Arithmetic, and Morse's 
(old) Geography. The Garfields possessed all of 
these. They had, also, the Farmer's Almanac, and 

4 



5o 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



a copy of Davy Crockett's Almanac, which was 
found, at one time, in almost every cabin of the 
West. Reading-books were scarce then through- 
out the country, in comparison with the present time ; 
in the wilds of Ohio they were not so plenty as pan- 
thers and wolves. Many of the few books found 
there related to exciting; adventures with beasts of 
prey, hair-breadth escapes on perilous waters, and 
the daring exploits of pirates and rascals ; and they 
were illustrated with very poor pictures. Three or 
four volumes, besides the Bible and school-books, con- 
stituted the whole literary outfit of the Garfields. 
They had more brains than books, as the sequel 
will abundantly prove. 

The village where the school was located was not 
much of a village after all. In addition to the log 
school-house, eighteen by twenty feet, there was a 
grist-mill, and a log-house, in a part of which was a 
store, the other part being used for a dwelling. The 
place is now known by the name of Chagrin Falls, 
and derived its singular name from the following 
fact. A bright Yankee began the settlement, at- 
tracted thither by the stream of water. He removed 
to the place in the winter time, when the stream was 
swollen and swift, and he erected a saw-mill. But 
when the summer came the stream dried up, and his 
hopes dried up with it. His chagrin was so great 
over his dry enterprise that he named the locality as 
above, in order to warn his Yankee relations against 
repeating his folly. 

We cannot delay to rehearse much that transpired 



GETTING ON r r 



in school during this first term that James attended. 
Two or three matters of special interest only can 
be noticed. 

We have said that James was very familiar with 
Bible stories ; and we have intimated too, that he 
was very inquisitive. His questions often created 
a laugh in school, both teacher and scholars enjoy- 
ing their originality and pertinency very much. 
The fact was, James meant to understand things as 
he went along, and so his active brain put many 
inquiries over which the school was merry. They 
were not merry because his questions were pointless 
and childish ; far otherwise. They were merry 
because such a little fellow showed so much bright- 
ness and precocity by his inquiries. Scholars and 
teachers came to regard him as a sort of prodigy. 

One day, at noon, an older scholar set him upon 
the table, saving : 

"Now, Jimmy, you be master and ask questions, 
and we will be scholars and answer them." 

f Take 'oo seats, then," responded Jimmy, by way 
of consenting, his bright eyes sparkling with de- 
light. 

The pupils took their seats in a glee. 

"Now go ahead, Jimmy," cried out Jacob Lan- 
der. "Don't ask too hard questions." 

Jimmy immediately began on his hobby — Bible 
questions. 

"Who made the ark?" 

" Noah," answered a half dozen voices. 

"Who told him to make the ark?" 



5 2 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



" God," replied several. 

" What for did God want he should make the 

ark?" 

There was a pause ; no one answered. It was 
one of Jacob Lander's hard questions, that James 
should have avoided. After waiting in vain for an 
answer, he answered it himself. 

" To save his self and family in." 

" Save from what? " cried out Jacob. 

" From the flood," replied James. 

" Who was the oldest man? " James continued. 

"Methusaleh," several answered. 

" How old was he? " 

Nobody could tell, and so James told them. 

"Who was the meekest man? " 

" Moses," was the prompt answer. 

" Who had a coat of many colors? " 

"Joseph," equally prompt. 

" Who was swallowed in the Red Sea? " 

Nobody replied. He told. 

And thus, for ten or fifteen minutes, this child of 
not quite four years interrogated the scholars around 
him, presenting one of the most marvellous scenes 
on record, whether in wilderness or city. From his 
earliest years his memory was very remarkable, 
embracing and retaining stories, facts, and whatever 
he heard, with unusual accuracy. He acquired 
very much information in school by listening to the 
recitations of other and older pupils. Nothing was 
more common during his first term at school, than 
for him to repeat at home something he had learned 



GETTING ON. 53 



from the recitations of older scholars. Then, too, 
nothing escaped his notice. His faculty of obser- 
vation was ever on the alert. Language, manners, 
apparel, methods of work, conversation, almost 
everything attracted his attention ; so that he was 
ever surprising friends, from his childhood, by the 
amount of information he possessed. 

He was a great imitator, too. Children differ 
very much in this regard. James was one in whom 
this faculty appeared to be large by inheritance. It 
was encouraging to behave well in his presence, 
it was perilous and doubly wicked to set a bad ex- 
ample before him. Coupled with his observation, 
this quality made him sharp and critical, for one of 
his years. 

" School will keep through the winter," said Me- 
hetabel to her mother, as she came home one day, 
near the close of the term. "Jacob's father is rais- 
ing the money to pay the master." 

"How did you learn? I have not heard of it," 
answered Mrs. Garfield. 

"Several of the scholars said so; and they are all 



pfoincr." 



" Going to have a vacation?" inquired her mother. 

f Yes ; two or three weeks ; school will begin in 
December for the winter." 

" I am very glad indeed that you can have such 
an opportunity to attend school," continued her 
mother. 

"Then I can go, can I?" 

"Yes; you can all go except Jimmy. He cannot 



54 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



go so far in the winter ; and it will be too hard for 
you to carry him through the snow." 

"Will Tom go?" 

" I hope so ; he has worked very hard that the 
rest of you might go, and now he should go." 

Ten minutes afterwards Thomas was discussing 
the matter, and presenting reasons why he could not 
attend. 

"I shall find enough to do taking care of the cows 
and chopping wood, even if there is no snow to 
shovel, which is not very likely." 

"But we must let some things go undone, if pos- 
sible, that you may learn when you can," suggested 
his mother. "In this new country you must take 
education when you can get it." 

"I can study at home, evenings and stormy days," 
replied Thomas. 

"That is what Jimmy must do — study at home," 
continued Mrs. Garfield. " He has a good start 
now, and he can make a good reader before next 
summer." 

The result was that Thomas did not attend the 
winter term, nor James. Their two sisters went, 
and Mrs. Garfield instructed James and assisted 
Thomas somewhat in his studies. 

Long winter evenings in the woods were favorable 
for study by the light of the blazin'g fire, that made 
the cabin more cheerful even than it was in the day- 
time. Pioneers could not afford the luxury of a tal- 
low candle or an oil lamp. Sometimes they adopted 
a substitute for both — the pitch-pine knot. But 



GETTING ON. 55 



usually in winter pioneers depended upon the light 
of the fireplace. Fireplaces were very large, so 
as to admit logs four feet long, with a quantity of 
smaller fuel in like proportion. When the mass of 
combustible material was fairly ablaze, the light and 
heat penetrated into every corner of the cabin ; and 
the heat below greatly modified the e'xcessive cold 
of the loft above. 

That winter was a memorable one for James. He 
made decided progress in spelling and reading be- 
fore the next summer came, with its hot days and 
growing crops. It was after the winter was over 
and gone, and the warm sunlight was bathing the 
forests and gladdening the earth, that James came 
into possession of a child's volume somehow, — either 
it was a present or was borrowed of a neighbor, — 
from which he derived much real pleasure. One 
day he spelled out and read aloud the following line : 

" The rain came pattering on the roof." 

" Why, mother ! " he shouted, under visible ex- 
citement, " I've heard the rain do that myself." 

"You have?" 

"Why, yes, I have," he continued, as if a new 
revelation were made to him. And then he read 
the line over again, with more emphasis and louder 
than before, 

" The rain came pattering on the roof." 

"Yes, mother, I've heard it just so!" and the 
little fellow appeared to be struggling with a thought 
laro-er than ever tasked his mind before. It was 
the first time, probably, that he had learned the 



^6 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

actual use of words to represent things, to describe 
objects and events — the outside world on paper. 

From that time James was introduced into a new 
world, — a world of thought. Words expressed 
thoughts to him, and books contained words; and 
so he went for books with all his mind, and might, 
and strength. There was nothing about the cabin 
equal to a book. He preferred the "English Read- 
er " to anything that could be raised on the little 
farm. He revelled in books — such books as he 
could find at that time when there was a dearth of 
books. Day after day the "English Reader" was 
his companion. He would lie flat upon the cabin 
floor by the hour, or sprawl himself out under a tree, 
on a warm summer day, with the "English Reader " 
in his hand, exploring its mines of thought, master- 
ing its wonderful knowledge, and making himself 
familiar with its inspiring contents. This was before 
the lad was five years old ; and he was scarcely 
six years old when he had committed to memory a 
great portion of that " Reader." Other volumes, too, 
occupied much of his attention, though none to such 
an extent as the "English Reader." Such was his 
childish devotion to books that his mother could 
scarcely refrain from prophesying, even then, an 
intellectual career for him. She knew not how it 
could be done, — all the surroundings of the family 
were unfriendly to such an experience, — but some- 
how she was made to feel that there was a wider, 
grander field of action for that active, precocious 
mind. 




IV. 




TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS. 

E can have a school-house nearer to us," 
remarked Mrs. Garfield to Mr. Boynton. 
"For the sake of my James, I wish we 
could have." 

"There are scarcely enough families yet to make 
such a change," replied Mr. Boynton; "some of 
them would have to go as far as they do now." 

" That is very true ; but more families would 
have a shorter distance to go than they have now. 
I think that fact is worth considering." 

Mrs. Garfield was giving utterance, for the first 
time, to thoughts that had been in her mind for 
several months. In her own mind she had num- 
bered the families which might be induced to unite 
in erecting a log school-house upon one corner of 
her farm. She continued : 

" Suppose you inquire of Mr. Collins and others, 
and learn what they think about it. If eight or ten 
families will unite, or even eight families, we can 
have a school nearer home. I will give the land 

57 



58 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

on which to build the house ; and three days' labor 
by seven or eight men will complete the building. 
It is not a long or expensive job, and it is just the 
time to start now, if the thing is to be done." 

" Perhaps it can be done," Mr. Boynton answered 
thoughtfully. "The more I look at it, the less dif- 
ficult it seems. I will consult the neighbors 3^011 
mention, and others, too. I should be as pleased 
as anybody to have it done." And as he spoke the 
last sentence he turned towards home. 

Without recording the details of this new enter- 
prise, w r e need only say, that it was very easily 
accomplished ; and before winter set in, a log school- 
house stood on the Garfield farm. Neighbors wel- 
comed the project, especially because it would be 
an advantage to Widow Garfield, whom they very 
much respected, and to whom their warmest sympa- 
thies had always been tendered in her affliction. 

" Now you can go to school by your own convey- 
ance," said Thomas to Jimmy, one day after the 
school-house was finished. 'You won't have to 
make a beast of burden of Hit any longer. You 
will like that, won't you?" 

James assented ; when his mother added : 

"Your master is coming from New Hampshire, 
where I was born. You will like him ; and he is 
to board here to begin with." 

Mrs. Garfield had four children, and Mr. Boynton 
six, to go to school, — ten in all from two families. 

It was through Mrs. Garfield's influence that the 
school-house was built ; and then, it was through her 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS. 



59 



influence that a school-master was imported from 
New Hampshire. The school-house was twenty 
feet square, with puncheon floor, slab roof, and 
log benches without backs, — large enough to ac- 
commodate twenty-five scholars. Teachers always 
"boarded round," dividing the time equally among 
the families ; and it was considered quite an advan- 
tage to a family of children to have the " master " 
board with them. 

By hard labor, assisted by his mother and sisters, 
Thomas harvested the crops in the autumn, cut and 
hauled wood, and did other necessary work, so that 
he could attend the winter term of school with his 
sisters and James. He had everything about the 
farm in fine order when December and the school- 
master, whose name was Foster, arrived. They 
came together, and one was about as rough as the 
other. The " master " was a young man of twenty 
years, uncouth in his appearance, large and un- 
wieldy, but a sensible sort of a Yankee, who had 
picked up considerable knowledge without going to 
school or reading much. On the whole, he was 
full as much of a man as pioneers could expect for 
the small wages they were able to pay. He was 
kind-hearted, of good character, and was really in- 
fluenced by a strong desire to benefit his pupils. 

He took up his abode at the beginning of school 
with Mrs. Garfield, and slept in the loft with Thomas 
and James. At once his attention was drawn to 
James, as a very precocious child. Good terms 
were established between them ; and when they 



60 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

started off together for the school-house, on the first 
day of school, the teacher said to him, putting his 
hand kindly on his head : 

"If you learn well, my boy, you may grow up yet 
and be a General." 

James did not know exactly what a General was, 
but then he concluded that a General must be some 
great affair, or a schoolmaster would not speak so 
favorably of him. The remark fastened upon the 
lad's mind ; somehow he felt, all through the day, 
that he was beginning just then to make a General, 
whatever that might be. It was not out of his mind 
for a minute ; and he labored somewhat upon the 
point, how long a time it would take to make him 
into a General. However, he knew that there was 
one being who stood between him, and all learning, 
and all the future, — and that being was his mother. 
What he did not know, she would know. As soon 
as he reached home, after school, he inquired : 

"Ma, what's a gen'ral?" 

"What's what?" his mother answered, not com- 
prehending his question. 

"What's a gen'ral? " James repeated, somewhat 
more distinctly. 

"Oh, I see now — a General!" she answered; 
"that is what you want to know." 

"Yes; the master said I might make a gen'ral if 
I learn." 

"That is what put it into your head, then," con- 
tinued his mother, laughing, "You don't know 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS. 6 X 

whether you would like to be one or not, I suppose : 
is that it?" 

"I want to know w r hat it is," James replied. 

"Well, I will tell you, my son, for your great- 
grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War under 
a General. You ought to know something about 
that, and something about your ancestors, too, as 
well as about a General." 

She proceeded to tell him about his paternal an- 
cestors : " How Edward Garfield came to this country 
from England, with John Winthrop, John Endicott, 
Francis Higginson, and many other Puritans, to 
escape oppression at home, settled in Watertown, 
Mass., which was as much of a wilderness then as 
Ohio was when your father removed here. The 
Indians were his neighbors, and he bought land of 
them, and lived in peace with them. There he and 
his descendants lived, some of them removing- into 
other towns, and many of them among the most in- 
fluential citizens of that time. By and by, England, 
the mother-country, made war upon the people there, 
and the fight of Concord bridge occurred on the 19th 
of April, 1775. The soldiers of England wore red 
coats, glistening with brass buttons, and they carried 
guns with which to shoot down the farmers and 
people of Massachusetts Colony, unless they would 
surrender and obey the king of England. But the 
men would do neither. They seized their guns, de- 
termined to defend themselves, and shoot the red- 
coats rather than continue to be subject to the king. 
Your great-uncle, Abraham Garfield, was among 



62 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

the soldiers at Concord Bridge. This was the be- 
ginning of the Revolutionary War, in which our 
soldiers fought bravely for their rights, and your 
great-grandfather, Solomon Garfield, was one of 
them. Then our soldiers wore blue coats, trimmed 
with brass buttons, and they were led by Generals 
who were the most distinguished men, like General 
Washington. The Generals wore coats that shone 
with gold lace, and epaulets, or ornaments, on their 
shoulders, and hats like the one General Washing- 
ton wears in the almanac picture, made showy with 
gold lace and a feather. Generals carried swords 
instead of guns; and they rode horseback, and led 
the soldiers into battle. I hope we shall never want 
any more Generals in this country, for it is terrible 
to shoot down men as they do in war. But by study 
and learning you can make a man equal to a Gen- 
eral, and be as honored, without killing your fellow- 
men. 

rf When the Revolutionary War was over, your 
great-grandfather removed into the State of New 
York, where he had a son whom he named Thomas. 
Thomas grew up to be a man, and was married, 
and had a son whom he named Abram ; and this 
Abram was your father. Now, it will be easy for 
you to remember, that Solomon Garfield was your 
great-grandfather, a soldier of the American Revo- 
lution ; that Thomas Garfield, a pioneer of New 
York state, was your grandfather, and Abram, his 
son, a pioneer of Ohio, was your father. There 
was no General among all your ancestors, though 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS. 63 

some of them were equal to Generals. If you should 
ever become a General, you will be what no one 
of your ancestors ever was, as far back as we can 
trace them — two hundred and fifty years." 

James listened to this recital with wonder. He 
scarcely knew before that he was connected with 
the world outside of the Ohio wilderness. Now, he 
clearly understood that his relations acted a con- 
spicuous part in settling this country, and were 
people of much consequence. It was a new and in- 
spiring thought to him. His cabin home was in- 
vested with new interest and more importance. How 
far his life was influenced by this revelation of the 
past, we cannot say, but there is no doubt that his 
active brain was stirred to nobler thought, and his 
young heart stamped by indelible impressions. 

James believed in his teacher, and his teacher 
believed in him. There w^as mutual attraction from 
the outset. The teacher saw that the backwoods 
boy was a great man in embryo. He was glad to 
have such a scholar under his tuition. He was 
somewhat taken aback, however, by subsequent 
occurrences. The second day of school he estab- 
lished the following rule : 

"Scholars cannot study their lessons and look 
about the school-room : therefore gazing about is 
strictly forbidden." 

It was a novel rule to the pupils. It savored of 
more strictness than they had been accustomed to. 
It was a very difficult rule for James to observe. He 
acquired much information by his close observation. 



64 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



His two eyes and two ears were more than books to 
him. Besides, he had never undertaken to perform 
the feat of sitting bolt upright upon a log bench 
without a back, and looking down upon his book 
with steady gaze. It was a severe ordeal for a boy 
who never sat still in his life, and who evidently 
was not constructed upon the principle of sitting 
still. However, his heart accepted the rule, and he 
meant to do the best that he could with ifc. If he 
were to make a General, or something else as good, 
he must do as the "master" told him to do. As 
much as that was clear to him. But the first thing 
he knew, his eyes were off his book, and on the 
class reciting. 

"James ! " said the teacher pleasantly, "have you 
forgotten the rule so quick?" 

" I forgot," was James' laconic reply ; and down 
dashed his eyes upon his book. Not long, how- 
ever. A taking answer to a question in the class on 
the floor brought up his eyes again, as if by magic. 

"What ! so soon forgetting the rule again, James?" 
exclaimed the teacher. "You have a very short 
memory." 

James looked down upon his book abashed, but 
he made no reply. The fact was, he meant to mind 
the rule and do his best to please his teacher. But 
it was never intended that two such eyes and two 
such ears as James possessed should come under a 
rule like that. The teacher was unwittingly at fault 
here. He did not quite understand his pupil ; and 
so he insisted upon the observance of the rule, and 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS. 65 

for two weeks continued to correct James, hoping 
that he would finally bring his eyes and ears into 
complete subjection. But his effort was fruitless. 
James was incorrigible, when he meant to be obedi- 
ent, and he grew nervous under the discipline. 
He thought so much about keeping his eyes in the 
prescribed place that he could think very little about 
his lessons ; and so he became comparatively dull 
and defective in his recitations. 

At length, just before the teacher left Mrs. Gar- 
field's for another boarding-place, he said to her, in 
James' presence : 

" I do not want to wound your feelings, James is 
such a noble boy ; but then I want to tell you — " 

"Say on," replied Mrs. Garfield, quite startled by 
the solemn tone of the " master." 

"James is not quite the boy in school that I ex- 
pected." 

" How so?" interrupted Mrs. Garfield, completely 
taken by surprise. " You astonish me." 

" I know that you will be grieved, but I think it is 
my duty to tell you." And Mrs. Garfield could see 
that he shrunk from telling her, and she began to 
think that something awful had happened ; still she 
repeated : 

"Say on." 

" Well, it is only this : James don't sit still, and he 
don't learn his lessons. I fear that I shall not be 
able to make a scholar of him." 

" O James ! " his mother exclaimed, as if the 
teacher had put a shot through her body. That was 



66 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

■all she said ; and it was uttered in a tone of agony 
that went straight to the little fellow's heart, as he 
stood looking- and listening. She sent him to school 
that he might make a scholar, and now her hopes 
were dashed in a moment. No wonder that her re- 
sponse was an exclamation of disappointment and 
grief ! 

" I will be a good boy," ejaculated James, burst- 
ing into tears, and burying his face in his mother's 
lap. " I mean to be a good boy." And he never 
told more truth in a single sentence than he did in 
the last one. It never will do for a philosopher, 
however wise, to attempt to repress the centrifugal 
force of nature ; and that was what the teacher was 
trying to do. 

" Perhaps he can't sit still," at length Mrs. Gar- 
field suggested ; " he never was still in his life." 

"I will sit still," was the boy's response, still sob- 
bing as if his heart would burst, yet speaking before 
the teacher had time to reply. 

" Perhaps so," answered the teacher, thoughtfully, 
as if the grieved mother had awakened a new idea 
in him. 

" I never knew him to fail of learning before," Mrs. 
Garfield continued ; " never." 

" I will learn, mother ! " the boy shouted between 
his sobs. 

"You mean to learn, I have no doubt," answered 
his mother. " Some boys do worse than they in- 
tend ; perhaps that is the trouble with you." 

"You dear child," said the teacher, putting his 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS. 67 

hand upon his head, touched by the lad's piteous ap- 
peals ; "you and I are good friends, and I think we 
shall have no more trouble. I will try you again. 
So wipe up, and let us laugh and not cry." 

The teacher saw his mistake. The child's 
mother had opened his eyes by her wise suggestion. 
In his mind he resolved to let the centrifugal force 
alone, and adopt another policy. So the subject was 
dropped, and James went to school on the following 
day, to sit still or not, as he pleased. The teacher 
resolved to leave him to himself, and see what the 
effect would be. The result was excellent. The 
boy did not sit still, of course he did not; but he 
was natural and happy, and his eyes fulfilled their 
function in roaming about more or less, and his ears 
heard what was going on in the school-house. The 
teacher could not make a blind and deaf boy of him, 
any way, and so he ceased to try. He allowed him 
to see and hear for himself; and it just filled the lad 
with happiness. It fired his ambition, and brought 
out his brilliant parts, so that he became the star of 
the school. 

It was quite a number of days before Mrs. Gar- 
field saw the teacher again, as he went to board with 
another family. Then he called to cheer the mother, 
whom he had so thoroughly grieved. Her first 
question was, as he entered her house, — 

" How does James do now? " 

" Oh, grandly," the teacher replied, in a tone that 
indicated great satisfaction in being able to speak so 
approvingly. 



68 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" I am so glad ! " was the mother's only response ; 
and her heart was healed. 

" He is perpetual motion in school," continued the 
teacher, " but he learns ; no scholar learns so fast as 
he." 

"Then you have given up your rule?" Mrs. Gar- 
field remarked, inquiringly. 

"Yes; I think you are right about him. Such a 
rule cramps him ; he can't be himself under it. I 
guess he tried hard to obey it." 

"Children are very unlike," continued Mrs. Gar- 
field. "James is unlike my other children in his 
restlessness and energy, as well as in his precocious- 
ness. I hope that he will come out all right." 

"Come out all right," responded the teacher. 
"My word for it, he will make his mark in the 
world; you can depend on that." 

"I hope so;" and Mrs. Garfield put her whole 
mother's heart into those last three words. 

The restive nature of James was a theme of re- 
mark frequently. Thomas sometimes complained 
of it. He lodged with James, and the latter would 
toss and tumble about, often awaking Thomas by 
his movements, kicking off the clothes, and thereby 
putting himself and brother to considerable incon- 
venience. Often he would turn over, and feeling 
cold after having kicked off the bedclothes, he 
would say in his sleep, — 

"Tom, cover me up." 

Thomas would pull the clothing over him, and lie 
down to his dreams, but only to repeat the operation 



TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS. 



6 9 



again and again. It was said of James, twenty-five 
years after that time, when he had become a Gen- 
eral, that, one night, after a terrible battle, he laid 
down with other officers to sleep, and in his restless- 
ness he kicked off his covering ; then, turning partly 
over, he said, — 

"Tom, cover me up." 

An officer pulled the blanket over him, and awoke 
him by the act. On being told of his request in his 
sleep, James thought of his good brother Thomas 
and of the little log-house in the woods of Ohio ; 
and he turned over and wept, as he did in childhood 
when the teacher concluded that he could not make 
a General of him. 

At the beginning of the school the teacher had 
said : 

" At the close of the term I shall present this Tes- 
tament (holding up a pretty Testament of rather 
diminutive size) to the best scholar, — best in study, 
behavior, and all that makes a good scholar." 

It was a new thing to them, and it proved quite an 
incentive to most of the pupils. Several tried hard 
for it ; but it was pretty well understood before the 
term was half through who would have the book. 
None were surprised, when, at the close of the last 
day of school, the teacher said, — 

"James ! step this way." 

James lost no time in obeying. 

"This book," passing the Testament to him, "is 
yours. I think you have fairly earned it as the best 
scholar in school. I have no fault to find with any 



7o 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



scholar; but your remarkable progress entitles you 
to the book." 

The pupils were all satisfied ; James was a happy 
boy, and his mother wept tears of joy. 

From the time that James was permitted to be 
himself in school, his advancement was remarkable. 
Every teacher regarded him as a boy of uncommon 
talents, and every scholar'was attracted to him as by 
magnetic influence. He read every book that he 
could beer or borrow; yet he was efficient to assist 
Thomas on the farm at six years of age. He went 
to school whenever there was a school ; but that was 
only a few weeks in a year. He improved his even- 
ings and leisure time at home, however, and all 
the books at hand were read over and over, until he 
was perfectly familiar with their contents. His men- 
tal appetite was always craving, nor was it ever 
gorged by excess of food. It appeared to be capa- 
ble of appropriating and digesting all that the times 
and locality could furnish. 

About this time the Garfield and Boynton children 
formed a kind of club for improvement in spelling. 
The spelling-book became the field of their ex- 
ploits. They studied it enthusiastically, and drilled 
each other in its contents, as if they meant to master 
it. The result was great proficiency in spelling — 
all of them excelling their companions at school. 
The drill was of great advantage to them in spelling- 
matches, when the winter school was going ; espe- 
cially to James, who became quite an enthusiast in 
that branch. He was the best speller in school, 



TRIALS AND TRIUMTHS. 



71 



when more than half the pupils were older than he. 
Some of them said that James could spell every 
word in the book correctly. Whether he could or 
not, in choosing sides for a spelling-match, James 
was sure to be the first one chosen. 




CHAPTER V. 



BOY FARMER. 




T eight years of age, James had his daily 
labor to perform as steadily as Thomas. 
The latter went out to work among the 
neighbors, often imposing thereby quite a 
responsibility upon James, who looked after the 
stock and farm at home. He could chop wood, 
milk cows, shell corn, cultivate vegetables, and do 
many other things that farmers must do. 

It was very great assistance to the family when 
Thomas could earn a little money by his labor. 
That money procured some indispensable articles, 
the absence of which was a real privation both to 
mother and children. They needed more money 
now than ever, because all must have shoes, and all 
must have books ; and there were the teachers to 
pay, and occasional meetings at the school-house 
now were some expense. So that the earnings of 
Thomas just met a demand of the time, in which 
every member of the household shared. 

'You are eight years old, my son, and Thomas 

72 



BOY FARMER. 



73 



is seventeen," said Mrs. Garfield to James. " Thomas 
was not eleven years old when your father died, 
and he had to take your father's place on the farm. 
You must be getting ready to take Thomas's place, 
for he will soon be of age, and then he will have to 
go out into the world to seek his fortune, and you 
will have to take care of the farm." 

"I can do that," James answered. 

"Not without learning how to do it," said his 
mother. " f Practice makes perfect,' is an old and 
true proverb." 

" I know that I can take care of the farm if Tom 
could," interrupted James, with some assurance. 

:r Yes, when you are as old as he," suggested his 
mother. 

'That is what I mean, — when I get to be as old 
as he was." 

" I hope that some day you will do something bet- 
ter than farming," continued Mrs. Garfield. 

rf What is there better than farming?" James 
asked. 

"It is better for some men to teach and preach. 
Wouldn't you like to teach school? " 

'When I am old enough, I should." 

r Well, it won't be long before you are old enough. 
If you are qualified, you can teach school when you 
are as old as Thomas is now." 

'When I am seventeen? " James responded with 
some surprise. All of his teachers had been older 
than that, and he could scarcely see how he could 
do the same at seventeen. 



74 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



"Yes, at seventeen or eighteen. Many young 
men teach school as early as that. But farming 
comes first in order, as we are situated." 

"And it is time to get the cows now," remarked 
James, hurrying oft' for them, and terminating the 
conversation. 

James was a self-reliant boy, just the one to take 
hold of farm work with tact and vigor. He scarcely 
knew what K I can't" meant. It was an expression 
that he never used. The phrase that he had just 
employed in reply to his mother, "/ can do that" 
was a common one with him. Once it put him into 
a laughable position. He was after hens' eggs in 
the barn, with his playmate Edwin Mapes. It was 
just about the time he was eight years old, perhaps 
a little older. Edwin found a pullet's egg, rather 
smaller than they usually discovered. 

" Isn't that cunning? " said Edwin, holding up the 

" I can swaller # that," was James' prompt answer. 

"Whole?" 

"Yes, whole." 

" You can't do it." 

" I can do it." 

" I stump you to s waller it," continued Edwin, 
eager to see the experiment tried. 

" Not much of a stump," responded James. "Here 
it goes ; " and into his mouth the egg went, proving 
larger than he anticipated, or else his throat was 
smaller, for it would not down at his bidding. 

"No use, Jim," exclaimed Edwin, laughing out- 



BOY FARMER. 



75 



right over his failure. "The egg is small, but it 
won't fit your throat." 

" It's going down, yet," said James, resolutely, 
and the second time the egg was thrust into his 
mouth. 

"Shell and all, I s'pose," remarked Edwin. 
" S'pose it should stick in your crop, you'd be in a 
pretty fix." 

" But it won't stick in my crop," replied James ; 
"it's goin' down. I undertook to swaller it, and I'm 
goin' to." 

The e£or broke in his mouth when he almost un- 
consciously brought his teeth together, making a 
very disagreeable mush of shell and meat. It was 
altogether too much of a good thing, and proved 
rather of a nauseating dose. His stomach heaved, 
his face scowled, and Edwin roared ; still James held 
to the e£p\ and made for the house as fast as his 



nimble limbs could take him, Edwin following after, 
to learn what next. Rushing into the house James 
seized a piece of bread, thrust it into his mouth, 
chewed it up with the dilapidated egg, and swal- 
lowed the whole together. 

"There!" he exclaimed, "it's done." 
He did what he said he would, excepting only 
that the egg did not find its way down the throat 
whole ; and he felt like a conqueror. Edwin swayed 
to and fro with laughter ; and, although forty years 
have elapsed since that day, it is not impossible for 
him to get up a laugh over it still. Mrs. Garfield 
looked on with curious interest, not comprehending 



;6 LOG-CABIN 10 WHITE HOUSE. 



the meaning of the affair until an explanation fol- 
lowed. Then she only smiled, and said, "Foolish 

boy ! " 

It was true, what she said.. He was a "foolish 
boy" to undertake such a feat; "foolish," just as 
many promising boys are "foolish" at times. But 
the spirit of the lad appeared through the "foolish " 
act. Nevertheless, the "I can" element of his char- 
acter rather dignified the performance. The more 
we think of it the more we are inclined to take back 
our endorsement of that word "foolish," because the 
act was an outcome of his self-reliance. When 
William Carey, the renowned missionary to India, 
was a boy, he possessed a daring, adventurous 
spirit, that expressed itself in climbing trees and 
buildings, and in going where, and doing what, few 
boys would do because of the peril. One day he fell 
from the top of a tree, on which he perched like an 
owl, and broke one of his legs. He was confined 
to the house and bed several weeks ; but the first 
thing he did on his recovery was to climb that iden- 
tical tree to its very top, and seat himself on the 
bough from which he had fallen, to show that the 
feat was not impossible. There is no doubt that 
his mother called him " a foolish boy," to risk his 
limbs and life again on the tree ; but his admirers 
have ever loved to rehearse the deed, as proof of the 
boy's invincible, reliant spirit. No one who reads 
of Carey's immense labors for the heathen, his fear- 
lessness in great danger, his hair-breadth escapes 
from death, his tact and coolness in every emer- 



BOY FARMER. 77 



gency, can fail to see that his " foolish " act of climb- 
ing the tree was a good illustration of the maxim, 
that "The boy is father of the man." 

James was not egotistical or self-confident ; these 
are no part of self-reliance. Nor was he proud ; 
pride is no part of self-reliance. He was not con- 
scious of having anything to be proud of. No boy 
was ever more simple-hearted and confiding in others 
than was he. He did not tell his mother that he 
could run the farm because he overrated his abili- 
ties ; it was the honest expression of what he was 
willing to do, and what he thought he could do. It 
was the opposite of that inefficient, irresolute boy- 
hood that exclaims, "I can't," when it ought to be 
ashamed to say it; and when a decided, hearty, "I 
can," would prove a trumpet-call to duty, rallying 
all the powers to instant action. This was one thing 
that encouraged his mother to expect so much of 
him when he should become a man. On one occa- 
sion, after he began to labor on the farm, and quite 
a task was before him, she said to him : 

"James, half the battle is in thinking you can do a 
thing. My father used to say, f Where there's a will, 
there's a way ; ' repeating a proverb that is as old as 
the hills." 

"What does that mean?" interrupted James, re- 
ferring to the proverb. 

"It means, that he who wills to do anything will 
do it. That is, the boy who relies upon himself, 
and determines to perform a task in spite of difficul- 



j% LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

ties, will accomplish his purpose. You can do 
that? " And his mother waited for a reply. 

" I can," James answered, with emphasis. 

" Depend upon yourself. Feel that you are equal 
to the work in hand, and it will be easily done. 
? God helps those who help themselves,' it is said, 
and I believe it. He has helped me wonderfully 
since your father died. I scarcely knew which way 
to turn when he died ; I scarcely saw how I could 
live here in the woods ; and yet I could find no 
way to get out of them and live. But just as soon 
as I fell back upon God and myself, I took up the 
cross, and bore it easily. We have fared much bet- 
ter than I expected ; and it is because I was made 
to feel that * Where there's a will, there's a way.' God 
will bless all our efforts to do the best we can." 

"What '11 he do when we don't do the best we 
can? " inquired James. 

" He will withhold his blessing ; and that is the 
greatest calamity that could possibly happen to us. 
We can do nothing well without his blessing." 

" I thought God only helped people be good? re- 
marked James, who was beginning to inquire within 
himself whether He helped farmers. 

" God helps folks to be good in everything, — 
good boys, good men, good workers, good think- 
ers, good farmers, good teachers, good everything. 
And without his help we can be good in nothing." 

James drank in every word, and looked very 
much as if he believed that he and God could run 
the farm successfully. His mother continued : 



BOY FARMER. 79 

" If you do one thing well you will do another 
well, and so on to the end. You will soon learn 
that your own efforts are necessary to accomplish 
anything, and so you will form the habit of depend- 
ing upon yourself, — the only way to make the most 
of yourself." 

Such was the instruction that James received from 
the wisest of mothers, just when such lessons respect- 
ing self-reliance would do him the most good. It was 
on this line that he was started off in his boyhood, 
and he followed that line thereafter. He had no 
one to help him upward, and he had no desire to 
have anybody help him. Unlike boys who depend 
upon some rich father or uncle to give them " a good 
start," or upon superior advantages, he settled down 
upon the stubborn fact, that if anything was ever 
made out of him he must do it himself. Hard work 
was before him, and hard fare, and he expected no- 
thing less. A statesman who rose from obscurity to 
eminence once said, " Whatever may be thought of 
my attainments, it must be conceded that I made as 
much out of the stuff put into my hands as was pos- 
sible." That the germ of such an impulse must 
have taken root in James' heart early, is quite evident 
from some remarks of his to young men after he was 
forty years old. 

" Occasion cannot make spurs, } r oung men. If 
you expect to wear spurs, you must win them. If 
you wish to use them, you must buckle them to your 
own heels before you go into the fight. Any suc- 
cess you may achieve is not worth having unless 



8o LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

you fight for it. Whatever you win in life you must 
conquer by your own efforts, and then it is yours, — 

a part of yourself Let not poverty stand as 

an obstacle in your way. Poverty is uncomfortable, 
as I can testify ; but nine times out of ten the best 
thing that can happen to a young man is to be tossed 
overboard, and compelled to sink or swim for him- 
self. In all my acquaintance I have never known 

one to be drowned who was worth saving 

To a young man who has in himself the magnificent 
possibilities of life it is not fitting that he should be 
permanently commanded ; he should be a com- 
mander. You must not continue to be employed ; 
you must be an employer. You must be promoted 
from the ranks to a command. There is something, 
young men, that you can command ; go and find 
it, and command it. You can at least command a 
horse and dray, can be generalissimo of them, and 
may carve out a fortune with them." 

Another incident of James' early life illustrates the 
phase of his character in question, and, at the same 
time, shows his aptitude in unexpected emergencies. 
He was eight or ten years of age when it occurred, 
a pupil in school with his cousin, Henry Boynton. 
Sitting side by side, one day they became more 
roguish than usual, without intending to violate the 
rules of school. Sly looks and an occasional laugh 
satisfied the teacher, who was a sharp disciplinarian, 
that something unusual was going on, and he con- 
cluded that the wisest treatment would be to stop it 
at once. 



BOY FARMER. 8 1 



"James and Henry ! " he called out, loudly, w lay 
aside your books and go home, both of }^ou." 

A clap of thunder would not have startled them 
more. They looked at each other seriously, as if 
the result was entirely unexpected, and delayed for 
a moment. 

"Don't dilly-dally," exclaimed the teacher; "both 
of you go home immediately." 

" I will go," answered James. Henry said noth- 
ing ; and both passed out. James made an express 
of his dexterous legs, shortening the distance from 
the school-house to home to about three or four min- 
utes, and an equal time to return. Returning to 
school, he entered the room, puffing like an engine, 
and resumed his seat. 

"James ! did I not tell you to go home?" shouted 
the teacher, never dreaming that the boy had had 
time to obey the mandate. 

"I have been home," answered James, not in the 
least disconcerted. He had obeyed his teacher 
promptly, though he took very good care that his 
mother did not see him when he reached the cabin. 

"Been home?" responded the teacher, inquiring- 
ly, surprised that the boy had been home in so short 
a time. 

rr Yes, sir, I have been home," replied James ; 
"you didn't tell me to stay."" 

:r Well, you can stay here, now," answered the 

teacher with a smile, thinking that was the best way 

to dispose of so good a joke. James remained, and 

was very careful not to be sent home again, lest the 

6 



S2 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

affair might not terminate so pleasantly. Henry 
sulked about the school-house for a while, and then 
went home and stayed the remainder of the day. 
That was the difference between the two boys. 
James saw the way out of the trouble at once, 
through the most literal obedience, and, believing 
that he was equal to the emergency, he started 
promptly to fulfil the command. He was neither 
sulky nor rebellious, but happy as a lark, lively as 
a cricket, and smiling as a morning in May. Such 
a little episode rather tightened the bond existing 
between the teacher and James. The former dis- 
covered more of that sharp discrimination and prac- 
tical wit in the affair, for which he had already 
learned that James was distinguished. 

James was now eleven years old, and Thomas 
was twenty. The district concluded to erect a frame 
school-house, and sold the old one to Thomas for a 
trifle. Thomas and James, assisted by their cousins, 
the Boynton boys, took it down, and put it up again 
directly in the rear of their mother's cabin, thus pro- 
viding her with an additional room, which was a 
great convenience. Thomas did it in anticipation 
of leaving home when he should attain his majorit}^. 




VI. 



SUNDAY IN THE WOODS. 




IONEERS need a Sabbath full as much 
as anybody else," was Mrs. Garfield's re- 
mark to James, and her other children. 
? Remember the Sabbath day to keep it 
holy,' is a commandment that must be kept in the 
woods as faithfully as elsewhere. In large towns 
and cities people prepare for this by building houses 
of worship, some of them with tall and handsome 
spires, pointing to heaven, with bells in the towers." 

"What for do they want bells?" inquired James, 
to whom this announcement about houses of wor- 
ship and bells was a revelation. Neither James nor 
the other children had seen a house of worship, or 
heard a Sabbath bell, and their mother touched 
upon a theme as new and fascinating as a novel 
when she described Sabbath scenes in large towns. 

"The bells call people to worship promptly, by 
ringing at the time of meeting," Mrs. Garfield re- 
plied to James' question. 

"Bells would not be of much use .o pioneers, who 
live so far apart, even if they could afford to have 
them," she continued. 

83 



84 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



"Wouldn't they sound splendid in the forests?" 
exclaimed James. 

" Indeed they would," responded his mother ; " and 
they would be good company, too. I imagine it 
would not be so lonesome if Sabbath bells echoed 
through the wilderness. But pioneers ought to be 
thankful that they can ever have preaching, under 
any circumstances whatever." 

"I should like to live in a big town where they 
have meetin'-houses with tall spires," added James. 

"Perhaps you will some day," suggested his 
mother. " None of us will live to see them in this 
town, probably." 

The last remark was rather of a damper upon 
James' aspirations, who scarcely expected, then, 
ever to find a home elsewhere. The foregoing con- 
versation will derive significance from an acquaint- 
ance with the religious privileges of the family. 

At the time of which we are speaking there was 
no stated preaching in the vicinity of the Garfield 
estate. The sect called Disciples held occasional 
services in school-houses and dwelling-houses. These 
occasional services began before the death of Mr. 
Garfield. As the latter, with his wife, had united 
with that sect before removing into the township of 
Orange, they were especially ready to welcome the 
itinerant preacher to their log-cabin, and to the 
school-house. Sometimes, the meeting was at a 
cabin or school-house five, six., and even eight 
miles away. It was not unusual, in James' boy- 
hood, for pioneers to travel six and eight miles to a 



SUNDAY IN THE WOODS. 85 

religious meeting, on Sunday. They went with ox- 
teams and horse-teams, single and double, and some 
men and boys walked the whole distance. Often, in 
some sections, the father would ride horseback to 
meeting, with his wife on a pillion behind him, car- 
rying her youngest child, the older children follow- 
ing on foot. The meagre religious privileges were 
highly valued, and there was much labor and hard- 
ship involved in availing themselves of them. 

The preachers of that day were illiterate men, — 
good, but uncultivated. They were -pioneer preach- 
ers, just as the settlers were pioneer settlers. They 
were well suited, perhaps, to the times and locality, 
— rough, sincere, earnest men, who found real 
satisfaction in traveling through the destitute coun- 
try, usually on horseback, to do the people spiritual 
good. Occasionally there was a remarkable preacher 
among them, possessing great native ability, force 
of character, and singular magnetic presence. These 
were especially welcome, although any one of the 
number was received cordially. In their travels 
they called at all cabins, as pastors now make visits 
from house to house, their visits being chiefly of a 
religious character. They ate and lodged in cabins, 
wherever noon and night overtook them. The best 
fare that a cabin had was cheerfully set before them, 
and the best advice and sympathy the preacher could 
command were freely proffered. It is not possible 
for us, at this day, to say how great was the influ- 
ence of this pastoral work. Men may read about it, 
and laugh over it now, but there can be no doubt 



$6 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

that it provided a much needed and indispensable 
source of Christian power, influence, and enjoyment. 
It contributed largely to make pioneer life nobler, 
and, in an important sense, educational. 

James enjoyed no better opportunities of religious 
worship than we have described, before he was ten 
years of age. Occasional worship was a privilege 
that he highly prized, as others did. He did not 
readily let slip an opportunity to attend public wor- 
ship. And the impressions it left upon his heart 
were gauged by his deep interest in such occasions. 

Whether there was any meeting or not, however, 
the weekly Sabbath was recognized in the Garfield 
cabin. No labor upon that day, except works of 
necessity, was the rule carefully observed. The 
Bible stood in the place of preacher. It was both 
read and studied. Mrs. Garfield's rule was to read 
four chapters daily on week days, and more on the 
Sabbath, when she formally expounded it in her 
sensible and thoughtful manner. The children asked 
questions as well as she. James was especially in- 
quisitive about the Scriptures, and, after he learned 
to read, he read them much, both on the Sabbath 
and week days. Bible stories that he learned from 
his mother's lips before he could speak plainly, be- 
came invested with new charms when he could read 
them at his leisure. He became so familiar with 
many narratives, that he knew just where in the 
Bible to turn to them ; and he had a multitude of 
questions to ask about "God's book," as his mother 
reverently called it. 



SUNDA Y IN THE WOODS. 87 



" How do you know that it is f God's book,' moth- 
er? " he asked. 

"Because it is not like any book that man ever 
wrote." 

"You said once that Moses, Isaiah, David, Mat- 
thew, Paul, and others wrote it," recalling his moth- 
er's explanation of different books. 

"Yes, that is true, they did write it; but they 
wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. They 
could not have written it without God's help. They 
wrote just what God told them, by His Spirit, to 
write." 

" And that is why you call it God's book? " James 
inquired. 

" Yes ; He is the author of it, although He di- 
rected men to write it, and guided them, also, in 
doing it." 

"Are all the stories in it true stories?" 

"Yes; every one of them." 

" Is it true that Joseph had a coat of many differ- 
ent colors? " 

"I expect it is." 

"Why didn't he have a coat of one color? Would 
it not be easier to make such a one? " 

" His father loved him more than he did his other 
children, and he made such a coat for him out of his 
partiality." 

" Did he do right to love one of his children more 
than he did others?" 

"No; he did not." 

"Was his father a good man?" 



88 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



"Yes. Some good men do wrong." 

" If good men do wrong, how do you know them 
from bad men?" 

" They don't do so many wicked things, nor so bad 
things, as bad men do." 

"Can't good men stop doing bad things?" 

"Yes; with God's help." 

" Don't God always help them ? " 

"No." 

"Whv don't he?" 

" Perhaps they don't deserve it." 

" Can't men be good without his help?" 

"No ; and what is worse, they won't be." 

" Why won't they ? " 

" Because they are so wicked." 

"How can they be good then?" meaning that he 
could not see how a good man could be a wicked 
man at the same time. 

In this dialogue appears the inquisitiveness of 
James, as well as his discrimination and thoughtful- 
ness. Often his mother was unable to answer his 
boyish questions about the Bible. Their depth and 
point confounded her. It was here, especially, that 
she had unmistakable proof of his remarkable tal- 
ents. It was around the old family Bible that the 
chief interest of the Sabbath clustered in her rude 
home. It was to her family what a Constitution is to 
the State, and what character is to the individual. 
Largely it made up for the absence of books, teach- 
ers, money, and conveniences. It would be quite 
impossible to say how much unalloyed happiness it 



SUN DA Y IN THE WOODS. 



89 



contributed to the family. Certainly its wise teach- 
ings were so indelibly impressed upon James' heart 
that its contents were more familiar to him at forty 
years of age than they are to most Christian men, 
so that its figures, symbols, and laconic sentences 
adorned his public addresses, to the admiration of 
listeners. 

. It is probable that James and his brother and sis- 
ters received more real valuable lessons, to assist in 
the formation of good habits, and to establish noble 
purposes, in their western cabin, than the children 
of many Christian families do from the constant 
ministrations of public worship. The absence of 
religious advantages was a good reason for the best 
improvement of the few enjoyed. The mother, too, 
felt additional obligations to guide, instruct, and 
mould the hearts of her offspring, because there was 
so little outside of her cabin to aid her. For these 
reasons, perhaps James enjoyed better advantages to 
become distinguished than he would have had in 
the more populous and wealthy parts of the country. 
When James was eight years old the Temperance 
Reformation was moving on with power. The New 
England states presented a scene of enthusiasm 
without precedent, and the interest spread into 
north-eastern Ohio. Even the cabins of pioneers were 
reached by the wave of influence for temperance. 
Mrs. Garfield was just the woman to welcome such 
a reform, and to appreciate its true value. The sub- 
ject was a fitting one for the Sabbath, although it 
was not neglected on other days. As the handmaid 



90 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



of religion, it challenged her best thoughts and ef- 
forts. 

" Drunkenness is a terrible sin," she said, " and I 
was always glad that your father had the same view 
of it that I have." 

"Didn't he drink rum or whiskey?" asked James. 

" Seldom ; and he got out of patience with men 
intoxicated. He thought they were very weak men 
by nature." 

' x Why don't men stop drinking it, when it is hurt- 
ing them?" James inquired. 

" It is difficult to say why they don't. Some think 
they can't do it." 

" Can't stop ! " James exclaimed with surprise. 

"It is said that they can't stop, — that they form 
such a terrible appetite that they can't control it." 

"I would," responded James, with characteristic 
firmness. 

"Better never begin to use intoxicating liquors; 
that is the only safe course. It is easier not to begin 
to go wrong, than it is to turn back and do better 
after beginning." 

" What do men drink liquor for? " 

"It would be difficult to tell what some of them 
drink it for, I think. Most men drink it because 
they like it, I suppose." 

" Does it taste good? " 

" I suppose it does to those who like it." 

" I should like to taste of some just to see what it 
tastes like," added James. 

" I rather you would never know how it tastes, 



SUNDA Y IN THE WOODS. 



91 



my son. If you never taste it, you can never be- 
come a drunkard, that is certain. f Look not thou 
upon the wane when it is red, when it giveth his 
color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At 
the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an 
adder.' Nothing could be truer than that." 

! 'What is there in rum that makes it hurt people 
so?" continued James. 

" There is alcohol in it, and it is that which makes 
drunkards. It don't hurt any one to drink milk or 
water, does it? " 

" Of course it don't." 

" Well, there's the difference between these whole- 
some drinks and intoxicating liquors ; there is no 
alcohol in the milk and water." 

"What for do they put alcohol into them if it 
hurts people? " 

Mrs. Garfield explained the last question as best 
she could, assuring him that the alcohol was not put 
in, but was developed in the drink by an artificial 
process, and that men wanted to produce the alco- 
hol in order to make money. 

In this way the great reformatory idea of that 
day found a lodgment in the Garfield cabin. James 
did not obtain a very definite idea of the enormous 
evil of intemperance, living where he had no oppor- 
tunity to observe it ; but his idea was distinct enough 
to cause him to abhor the cause of the woe. His 
mother gave him facts enough respecting the curse 
of intemperance, that had come under her own 
observation, to show him that intemperance was a 



92 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



terrible evil, and his young heart was fully resolved 
to avoid the way to it. 

Another lesson that made Sunday in the woods 
a memorable day to James, although it was promi- 
nent on other days also, was loyalty to the country. 
Mrs. Garfield's memory was full of facts respecting 
the sacrifices and sufferings of her ancestors to de- 
fend and preserve American Independence ; and 
many an hour, as we have already intimated, was 
whiled away in recitals of their heroic deeds. 

There is no doubt that James formed an exalted 
idea of what we call Loyalty from these stories 
that were so inspiring and marvellous to the young. 
It is often the case that indirect methods fasten upon 
the young mind so tenaciously that they outlast 
many lessons that have been imparted with the 
utmost care and hopefulness. It is certain that 
James derived an impulse from some source, in 
regard to loyalty, that contributed to make this vir- 
tue one of the most prominent elements of his char- 
acter in manhood. Although his mother did not 
formally imitate the example of the father of Alex- 
ander, who led his son to the altar of his divinity at 
eight years of age, and made him swear eternal 
hate to the enemies of Rome, yet she did what 
was tantamount to that, and what secured as effec- 
tually the devotion of her son to the defence of his 
country. 

"Never be afraid to do what is right," Mrs. Gar- 
field remarked. "The biggest coward in the world 
is the man who is afraid to do right." 



SUNDAY IN THE WOODS. 



93 



" I shouldn't think men would be afraid to do 
right," remarked James. 

" I shouldn't think boys would be afraid to do 
right," responded his mother, perceiving that James 
scarcely thought there was an opportunity for this 
sort of bravery in boyhood. "Boys don't dare to 
do right sometimes." 

T When? " inquired James, as if he questioned the 
truth of the latter statement. 

" When they don't dare to obey their mothers or 
teachers because their companions don't want they 
should," answered his mother, intending to remind 
him of certain facts in his own boyish life. 

" I thought you meant when I got to be a man," 
said James, with a look denoting that he was hit. 

" I meant when a boy, as well. If you don't be- 
gin to stand up for the right when you are young, 
you never will when you are old. 'The boy is fa- 
ther of the man,' is a proverb as true as it is old. 
Then a cowardly boy is as contemptible as a cow- 
ardly man. Obey your mother and teacher though 
all your companions laugh at you." 

" I do," answered James. 

T Yes, I think you do, generally ; and I speak of 
it now, that you may give even more attention to it 
in the future than in the past, and grow more and 
more fearless to oppose wrong as you grow older. 
When you become a man you will meet with many 
more, and greater temptations, than you have now, 
and unless you have more decision and courage you 
will not be equal to the circumstances." 



94 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



" Daniel's bravery got him into the den of lions/' 
suggested James. 

' x Very true ; and it was better for him to be in a 
den of lions, with God on his side, than a friend of the 
king with God against him. If you are like Daniel 
in moral courage I shall be satisfied. The lions 
could not devour him so long as God was his friend ; 
and God is always the friend of those who stand by 
the right." 

James never had other than royal lessons upon 
moral courage and kindred qualities. These tilings, 
which lie at the very foundation of stability of char- 
acter and personal excellence, were ingrained into 
his early life. The Sabbath furnished a favorable 
opportunity for special efforts in this direction, 
though every day in the week bore witness in the 
same line. 

We must not close this chapter without reference 
to one fact connected with the Garfield family that 
is worthy of particular attention. It was their " coat- 
of-arms." A coat-of-arms formerly was a " habit 
worn by knights over their armor. It was a short- 
sleeved coat or tunic, reaching to the waist, and em- 
broidered with their armorial ensigns and various 
devices." The Garfield coat-of-arms consisted of a 
shield, with a gold ground, three horizontal crimson 
bars crossing it in one corner, over it a helmet with 
raised visor, together with a heart, and above the 
whole an arm wielding a sword, on which w r as in- 
scribed the motto, In crtcce vznco — "Through 
Faith I Conquer." 



SUNDA Y IN THE WOODS. 



95 



What we wish to say about this coat-of-arms re- 
lates to the motto. It tells of a courage that was 
born of faith in God, such as was found in the Ohio 
cabin, and without which the sorrows and hardships 
that invested its early history would have proved too 
much for flesh and blood. It is a grand spirit to 
brood over a human habitation, beneath whose roof 
childhood buds and blossoms into true life. It ap- 
propriates the Sabbath, Bible, and every other hal- 
lowed power that is accessible, to the " life that now 
is," because of another " life that is to come." It was 
this spirit that James nursed from his mother's breast, 
and inhaled from the domestic atmosphere that 
wrapped his boyhood, to arouse heroic qualities, 
and bend them to victorious work. 

When James was about ten years old, his uncle, 
Amos Boynton, organized a congregation in the 
school-house, and took charge of it himself, when 
no minister was on the ground. Mr. Boynton was 
a man of excellent abilities, and a very devoted 
Christian man. He was more familiar with the 
Bible than any man in the township, and could re- 
peat large portions of it. A copy of the Scriptures 
was his constant companion. He carried it with 
him into the field. If he stopped to rest himself, or 
his cattle, the brief time was spent in reading the 
Book of books. His familiarity with the Bible quali- 
fied him to conduct Sabbath services in the log 
school-house ; and they were of great moral and 
spiritual advantage to the people. To James they 
were of as much real value as to any one. 



gb 



fi LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



At that time religious controversy ran high in 
northern Ohio. The Disciples were a new sect, 
and all other sects denounced them ; while they, in 
turn, expressed themselves freely concerning the 
errors and follies of their opponents. James often 
heard discussions at home upon these controverted 
religious questions, in which his mother engaged 
with others. It was not unusual for preachers to refer 
to them in their sermons ; and alwa} T s, when preach- 
ers staid at his mother's house, as they often did, 
these questions were discussed, and they made a 
deep impression upon the active mind of James. So 
bright a boy as he could scarcely fail to see that vast 
importance attached to subjects in which the minis- 
ters and his mother were so much interested. These 
controversies lent more or less importance to Sunday 
in the woods. 

Among the topics discussed was Baptism, the 
Disciples being immersionists. The extent to which 
James' mind was impressed by these discussions is 
learned from the following fact. Considerable politi- 
cal excitement prevailed in that part of Ohio in the 
" Harrison Campaign." The neighbors were all 
for Harrison, — Whigs, — and James had heard his 
mother say that his father was a Whig, and a great 
admirer of Henry Clay, and voted for him when he 
was a candidate for President. One day some 
neighbors were discussing politics in James' pres- 
ence, when one of them asked him, in a sportive 
way, "Jimmy, what are you, Democrat, or Whig? " 



SUNDA Y IN THE WOODS. gy 

" I'm Whig ; but I'm not baptized" answered 
James. 

The subject of Baptism was so thoroughly im- 
pressed upon his mind, and the subject of Whigism, 
also, that the little fellow supposed he could not 
be a properly constructed Whig until he was bap- 
tized. 

7 




VII. 




HIGHER UP. 

ALLO, Jim, now you'll have to be a far- 
mer in earnest ! for I am going to Michi- 
gan," said Thomas, as he returned from 
Cleveland. " Got a place out there." 

"Where?" inquired James, not understanding 
where it was that his brother was going. 

"To Michigan," repeated Thomas. "It is more 
of a wilderness than Orange is." 

"I know that," answered James. " Wri^t you 
goin' to do out there? " 

"Clearin'," replied Thomas; "twelve dollars a 
month." 

"You don't get so much as that, do you?" said 
James, to whom that amount of monthly wages 
seemed enormous. 

"Yes, twelve dollars a month. It's hard work, 
early and late. Mother shall have a frame-house, 
now." 

"Good!" was James' answer of evident satisfac- 
tion. 

9 8 



HIGHER UP. qq 



At this time James was twelve years old, and 
Thomas was twenty-one ; a period that had been 
much discussed in the family, in anticipation of its 
arrival. There was a definite understanding be- 
tween Thomas and his mother that the former 
should leave home at twenty-one, and James should 
run the farm. It was important that Thomas 
should be earning something abroad now that he 
had attained to his majority, and James was old 
enough to attend to affairs at home. Thomas went 
to Cleveland for the purpose of obtaining work, 
without any definite idea of what that work would 
be. Emigration to Michigan was increasing, and 
there was considerable excitement over the resources 
of that state, so that labor was in considerable de- 
mand for that section. The first opportunity that 
opened to Thomas he accepted without hesitation, 
and it was, as already announced, clearing land for 
a farmer in Michigan, at twelve dollars a month. 

Thomas passed into the house with James to make 
known the result of his errand to Cleveland. 

"I hope it will prove all for the best," remarked 
Mrs. Garfield, after hearing the report. "It's farther 
away than I expected." 

"Yes, it is some distance ; but that is of little con- 
sequence, after all. It's good pay." 

" How far is it? " asked James, who was intensely 
interested in the contemplated change. 

"I don't know exactly," answered his mother: 
n it's farther than I wish it was." 



IO o LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



"Will you live in a log-house, Tom?" James con- 
tinued. 

"Yes; a cabin not half so large and good as 

this." 

" How long shall you be gone?" 

" Six months certain ; perhaps longer." 

"And you will have to take Tom's place on the 
farm," said Mrs. Garfield, addressing James. "That 
will be taking a step higher." 

" I can do it," responded James, " though I am 
sorry Tom is goin'." 

" We shall miss him sadly," remarked Mrs. Gar- 
field. " It will be more lonesome than ever when 
he is crone ; but we must make the best of it." 

"It will be best all round, I'm thinking," said 
Thomas, "if it is the way for you to have a frame- 
house, mother. I mean that shall come about." 

"That will be nice, won't it, mother?" exclaimed 
James, who was thoroughly prepared to appreciate 
a real house, after twelve years' occupancy of a 
cabin. 

"Yes, it will be nice indeed, almost too nice to 
prove a reality," replied his mother. 

" It will prove a reality," remarked Thomas with 
decision. 

Thomas had spent much time, during the last five 
years, in cutting and preparing Jumber for a new 
house, hoping the time would come when his mother 
could command money enough to employ a carpen- 
ter to erect it. He had prepared sufficient lumber 
for the house when he became twenty-one years of 



HIGHER UP. ioi 



age ; but there was no money to pay a carpenter to 
put it up. Now Thomas saw the way clear for 
erecting the house after a while, and the prospect 
fired his ambition. He was willing to go to Michi- 
gan for that object alone ; indeed, he rejoiced to go, 
if by so doing a frame-house could be secured. 

Thomas was busy in preparing to leave, and James 
was equally busy in attending to lessons that Thomas 
gave him about the work to be done on the farm. 
The ground was to be ploughed, the wheat sowed, 
the corn and potatoes planted, with all the etceteras 
usually belonging to the season's labor. Thomas 
had his directions to give concerning all these things, 
that his little brother might the more successfully 
perform the farm-work. However, his time at home 
was limited, as his engagement required him to be 
in Michigan at an early date ; and soon he was 
gone. 

It was almost like making; another grave in the 
corner of the wheat-field to part with Thomas. He 
had been the main stay of the family since the death 
of his father, and his mother had leaned upon him 
as mothers will upon a noble son ; and now to miss 
his face and voice, and miss his counsels and labors, 
created a void in the home circle that brought tears 
to the eyes of all. It was a trying hour for James, 
to whom Thomas was both brotherly and fatherly. 
The most tender and loving confidence existed be- 
tween the two. Thomas was proud of his gifted 
little brother, and James had perfect confidence in 
his efficient big brother. It was not strange, there- 



102 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

fore, that James felt the absence of Thomas deeply, 
and deplored the necessity that compelled him to 
leave home. Nevertheless, he went to work upon 
the farm with a will. He knew how to labor, be- 
cause he had labored much with Thomas for four 
years, and was often called the "boy-farmer;" but 
now he was a farmer in a more important sense, 
and must rely upon his own judgment, plans, and 
efficiency to a great extent. He was much higher 
up than before in the matter of care and respon- 
sibility. 

Here, as well as anywhere, we may describe the 
scenery about the Garfield estate, for that may have 
had an important influence upon the life and char- 
acter of James. He was the sort of boy who de- 
lights in beauty and grandeur, to whom a river, 
mountain, or wild forest was more attractive than 
they often are to older heads. A person reared in 
the locality describes the scenery as follows : 

w Orange township is situated in the south-eastern 
portion of Cuyahoga County, fifteen miles from 
Cleveland. It is now, and always has been, strictly 
a farming town. There is no village within its 
limits. 

"Its surface is irregular and hilly, presenting some 
of the finest rural scenery to be found in this part of 
Ohio. On the north-east flows the Chagrin River, 
from which the land gradually rises towards the 
south-west for a distance of three miles. Looking 
east from this range of hills, a grand view is ob- 
tained. The valley of the Chagrin, with its simple 



HIGHER UP. io- 



beauty, and the country for twenty miles beyond, 
are distinctly visible. All combine to form a picture 
that is strong, charming, and impressive. It was to 
a spot south of this chain of hills that the parents of 
General Garfield came in 1830." 

We should have said that, at this time, the "West- 
ern land speculation " was running high. People 
grew wild over the prospect of coining money out 
of the wild lands of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and 
Illinois. Men at the East bought thousands of acres 
of land in the West, that they never saw, and did 
not positively know that such land existed. Hun- 
dreds and thousands of people sold houses and land 
in New England and in the Middle States, and re- 
moved thither, to make their fortunes. Perhaps 
Thomas cherished a secret hope that somehow he 
should become a rich man in the woods of Michigan. 
It is certain that the opportunity to labor in that 
State came to him through the " Western land ma- 
nia." We will leave him there, felling trees and 
clearing land for the Michigan farmer, while we 
look after James at home. 

"Well, your farmer-boy is making things lively," 
remarked a neighbor, who called upon Mrs. Gar- 
field. " He is handy as any of us with his tools." 

"And works as hard, I guess," responded Mrs. 
Garfield. 

"That is so; all of us work hard enough," re- 
joined the neighbor. 

" Pioneer life is beset with hardships," continued 



104 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



Mrs. Garfield ; " though its poverty is not so hard 
to be borne as poverty in a large town or city." 

"Do you really think so?" 

"Certainly I do." 

"What makes you think so? " 

"Why, don't you see that there are no rich around 
us to be compared with? We are not continually 
being reminded of our extreme poverty by the pres- 
ence of those who can have all that money can buy." 

"You think there is some satisfaction in all being 
poor together?" interrupted the neighbor, jocosely. 

"Yes; that is about it. 'Misery loves company,' 
and I suppose that is true of poverty." 

"Well, we are all poor enough, if that is all," con- 
tinued the neighbor ; " and on your theory we ought 
to be tolerably happy." 

"We are, I think, as happy as the human race 
averages, and perhaps a little more than that. God 
averages human experience well, after all our fault- 
finding." 

"There must be some satisfaction in thinking so ; 
but I can't exactly accept that view. Pioneers have 
more than their full share of hardships and trials, in 
my opinion," replied the neighbor, just as James 
came in from the corn-field. Turning to him, by 
way of cordial salutation, he added, 

"What do you think about it, James?" 

"Think about what?" 

" Whether pioneers have more hardships than other 
people? " 

" I don't know much about it," answered James. 



HIGHER UP. IO c 



" If I knew what hardships other people have \ could 
tell something about it; but I don't." 

James never spoke a truer word. He was born 
and reared in the forest. He had never seen even 
a village, much less a large town or city. He 
had seen but one or two frame-houses at that time ; 
and these had just been erected in the vicinity. 
How could he understand that others enjoyed more 
than he did? He was a happy boy. He had his 
home, though it was a cabin. He had his mother, 
and brother, and sisters, and they were just as dear 
to him as home and brothers and sisters are to those 
who dwell in palaces. Perhaps they were more so : 
we incline to the belief that they were. He had a 
mother ; and if any mother was ever worth more to 
a child than his was he did not know it, nor could 
he be made to believe any such thing. So he was a 
contented boy. What other people, more highly 
blest, called hardships, he accepted as a matter of 
course. He scarcely knew that it was not as good 
as others enjoyed. Why should he not be a rolick- 
ing, wide-awake, happy boy? Hard work chal- 
lenged his best endeavors now that his brother was 
gone ; but hard work is not necessarily hardship. 
Some rich men work more hours in a day to keep 
their money, than the poor man does to keep soul 
and body together. And often it is more annoying 
labor, straining the nerves, banishing sleep, fretting 
the disposition, and keeping up a continual fever of 
anxiety. 

James did not call hard work hardship ; he never 



106 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

thought of such a thing. He was never happier 
than he was during that season of severe toil after 
his brother left home. He had greater responsibil- 
ity, but responsibility is not hardship. He felt more 
manly and competent; and he was both, now that 
the care of the farm and his mother rested on his 
shoulders. A close observer could see the honest 
pride of a noble heart cropping out through his 
manly bearing. Call it hardship to run the farm ! He 
never dreamed of it ; it was his delight. The lan- 
guage of singing expressed his daily experience far 
better than complainings. Under his homely jacket 
nestled a spirit that had not learned discontent. 
No ! Neighbor Mapes put his question to the wrong 
part} r , when he said, 

" What do you think about it, James? " 

James was not the passenger to awake. Break 
the slumbers of somebody who is happy only when 
he is asleep. James was happiest when he was 
awake, as mortals everywhere should be. And he 
never was more wide awake than he was on the 
farm during that season of excessive labor. 

" Goin' to exchange work with Mr. Lamper," said 
James one day to his mother. 

" How so? " inquired his mother. 

K He wants an extra hand once in a while, and so 
do I ; and then I want his oxen sometimes." 

" You have seen him ? " 

w Yes ; and have made the bargain." 

" A good arrangement, I guess," added his mother. 
"Then, his head is older than yours, and he can 



HIGHER UP. 107 



show you some things about farming that you don't 
know." 

"And ' Two heads are better than one, if one is a 
sheep's head,' I have heard you say a good many 
times," added James, in his lively way. 

"If they are pioneer heads, it is so," rejoined his 
mother, whose opinion of pioneer life was more favor- 
able than that of neighbor Mapes. " Pioneer life 
requires all the wisdom that can be got together to 
make life in the woods successful." 

This reference to " life in the woods " was partly 
in a vein of pleasantry ; for now the designation was 
scarcely appropriate. Nearly fourteen years had 
elapsed since Mrs. Garfield moved into that town- 
ship, and great changes had been wrought in that 
time. Many settlers had moved into the township, 
and the unbroken forests had yielded to the pioneer's 
axe, and well-conducted farms dotted the landscape. 
Neighbors were near and many now, as compared 
with the distance and number of them ten years be- 
fore. The pioneer stage had really passed, and it 
was not " life in the woods " that James was living. 
There was a saw-mill and an ashery in the vicinity ; 
also a carpenter was added to the population of the 
town. All this brought a change that James, young 
as he was, could but notice. 

The plan of exchanging work was one that James 
originated, and it proved of great value to him dur- 
ing- the season. It lightened his labor when "Two 
heads were better than one," and gave him the use 
of the oxen when no other aid could be half so val- 



108 LOG-CABIN 70 WHITE HOUSE. 

uable. Then Mr. Lamper was glad to exchange 
labor with a boy who was equal to a man in his 
efficiency. James could turn his hand to any sort 
of work upon the farm, and had physical strength to 
endure almost any strain. His honest pride of char- 
acter assisted him, too, more than ever in his work, 
as any sharp observer could see. 

We cannot dwell upon the labors of that eventful 
season, except to add, that the farm did for James 
what a teacher did for some other boys. The 
celebrated engineer, and inventor of the locomotive 
engine, George Stephenson, said that he studied 
mechanics with his engine instead of a professor. 
Indeed, the engine was his professor, and taught 
him daily the most important lessons. He was 
eighteen years of age, and was running the engine 
in a colliery. On Saturday afternoons, when the 
workmen were released from labor, and were spend- 
ing their time in rum-shops, or attending dog-fights, 
George took his engine to pieces, and cleaned and 
studied it. He could neither read nor write, but he 
could understand and appropriate the silent lessons 
of his engine ; and these made him the renowned 
inventor of the locomotive. Well might he call the 
engine his teacher. 

James might have called the farm his teacher. It 
taught him many excellent lessons. He extracted 
the most valuable knowledge from its soil. He 
evoked inspiring thoughts from its labor. His man- 
hood developed under its rigid discipline. His mind 
enlarged its mental grasp. The season spent in the 



HIGHER UP. IO q 



log school-house could not have pushed him higher 
up than did his experience on the farm. It was 
positive proof that work is discipline as much as 
study, and that it can do for boys, often, more than 
stud} r to qualify them for the stern duties of life. 
James was more of a man at the close of that sea- 
son than he was at the beginning of it. 

He had little time to read during those months ; 
and vet he never valued reading more. He was 
never more hungry for knowledge than he was dur- 
ing that period of constant labor. He thought 
much of going to school ; and often the thought 
would force itself upon his mind, how can I get an 
education? Not that he formed any definite plan 
concerning it, or even considered that such a thing 
was possible ; but the vague thought would some- 
times arise. And then his mother frequently dropped 
remarks which showed the strong desire of her 
heart, that James might, at some future time, she 
knew not how or when, become a scholar. That 
such a boy should spend his life in tilling the earth 
appeared to her like wasting pearls. 

"James, I hope that you will not always have to 
work on a farm." How often she remarked thus. 

IC What would you do if I shouldn't? " was James' 
thoughtful reply. 

* I should like to, if it is best." 

"I hardly know. r It is not in man that walk- 
eth to direct his steps,' and I am glad of it. There 
is my hope, that some day you can get an educa- 
tion." 



no 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



" I know it will be best, if you can do it. You 
can never know too much." 

"I guess that is so," replied James, half humor- 
ously. " I couldn't ever know too much to work on 
a farm. There is more to learn about it than I could 
learn in many years." 

"That is true, no doubt; but I have a strong de- 
sire that you should become a scholar ; and some- 
times the desire is so strong that I feel as if I could 
not be denied." 
" I don't feel so." 

" Wouldn't you like to study, and become a 
scholar?" 

"Why, yes, I should like nothing better; but 
how can I do it?" 

"I don't know, and that is what troubles me, 
though I ought not to be troubled. I know that God 
will open the way, if it is best, and I ought to leave 
it there ; but somehow I can't help having anxiety 
about it." 

"Well, it can't be at present," added James, as if 
perfectly satisfied with his situation. 

Thus James was led on, and his mother, too, not 
knowing whither Providence was guiding them. 
James was going up higher all the while, although 
it scarcely seemed so to his doting mother. The 
Lord was laying a deeper foundation than could 
have been laid if she had had her own way. . "Man 
deviseth his own way, but the Lord directeth his 
steps." 




VIII. 



BOY CARPENTER. 




OM is coming ! " was the shout Mrs. Gar- 
field heard as she caught sight of James 
bounding across the garden. ''Tom is 
coming ! " louder yet. One would have 
thought the boy had suddenly lost his reason, judg- 
ing by his antics. 

Sure enough ! Looking from the cabin door she 
saw Thomas approaching, and James had already 
reached him in, his pleasurable excitement. If James 
was glad to get hold of Thomas' hand, Thomas was 
equally rejoiced to get hold of James. The greet- 
ing was mutual and hearty. The big brother and 
little brother made for the house, hand in hand, their 
tongues running glibly all the while. 

"Are we goin' to have a frame-house now? " asked 
James, almost the first thing. 

"Yes, we'll have a frame-house now, and let the 
hens keep house in the cabin," replied Thomas. 

"It's just about good enough for them," remarked 
James in response. "It will make a good hen- 
house*." 

in 



H2 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" Rather better accommodations than they have 
had," Thomas added; "and will compare well with 
our quarters when the house is done." 

By this time mother and son stood face to face, 
James shouting : 

" Goin' to have the frame-house now, mother ! " 

Mrs. Garfield found that she was a good deal like 
James, and when she saw that her Thomas was cer- 
tainly coming, she forgot everything else, and has- 
tened to meet him, — not as wildly as James, but 
very much as all fond mothers will do when they 
have not seen their good sons for seven months. 
She went across the house-lot at double-quick, and 
soon had hold of the big boy as firmly as he had 
hold of her. It was a glad meeting. Mothers and 
sons who dwell in palaces scarcely know what a 
luxury it was. Why, it more than paid for the long 
separation. The meeting paid principal and interest 
in full. The family were united again, — girls, boys, 
and mother, — one girl rather big now, twenty-three 
years old; and Thomas almost twenty-two, just 
the acre of his father when the latter was married. 
Happy family ! 

They were hardly seated in the cabin, when 
Thomas flung a handful of gold into his mother's 
lap, saying : 

" Now you can have a frame-house ; " and the 
noble young man seemed to be perfectly satisfied, 
now that he was able to give his mother a better 
home. "We'll go about it at once." 

"My ! what a lot ! " was James' exclamation when 



BOY CARPENTER. ll ^ 



he saw the shining gold ; and he proceeded to ex- 
amine the treasure in his mother's lap. 

"How much is there, Tom? " he asked. 

" Seventy-five dollars, just." 

"And you earned it all? " 

"Everv cent of it." 

mi 

James read aloud the inscriptions on the new, 
bright coin, while he handled it in amazement that 
his own brother could make such a "pile." Things 
had not been conducted on a gold basis in that 
cabin, so that it was a new spectacle that suddenly 
broke upon James' delighted vision. He had not 
seen gold coin before, nor had he dreamed that 
such an article could come out of the Michigan 
woods. It is not strange, therefore, that the back- 
woods boy was considerably elated over the sight. 
What a mint is to him now, that was seventy-five 
dollars in gold to him then. 

:f Why don't you say something, mother?" ex- 
claimed James, no doubt expecting that his mother 
would be as gushing as himself over the gold. The 
fact was, she could not have said an}^thing if she 
had tried. What mother could, in the circum- 
stances? That great boy, as old as his father was 
when she became his bride, coming home with such 
proof of his filial love ! Thinking of his mother 
more than he did of himself! Happy only in help- 
ing her ! Who wonders that she sat mute as a 
marble statue? There was no language for such an 
occasion. All the Noah Websters in the world could 
not provide words for such a moment. A mother's. 
8 



ii4 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



heart, at such a time, defies expression. At least it 
was so with mother Garfield's heart. It could have 
taken that strapping son to itself, and folded him 
like a baby again, and covered him over with kisses, 
which would have been only a figure of speech, but 
language was out of the question. James saw the 
point as soon as her tears dropped upon the gold 
coin. He could not exactly understand it, though, 
for he felt like hurrahing instead of crying, and he 
knew that his mother was glad that she could have 
a frame-house, for he had often heard her express a 
wish of that kind. So he could not quite under- 
stand it. Readers ! it was because he was like all 
the rest of the boys and girls — they do not under- 
stand the mystery of a mother's love. 

The excitement of the hour passed, however, and 
the equilibrium of feeling and daily duties was re- 
stored. 

"I'm off again, mother, as soon as I get you into 
the new house," said Thomas. "There's plenty of 
work in Michigan, and I must be doing it." 

"Well, you must manage it to suit yourself. I 
suppose that Mr. Treat can be had any time to put 
the house up." Mr. Treat was the carpenter. 

" I will find out. I can work with him, and we'll 
make a quick job of it." 

"I'll work, too," said James. " I can carry boards, 
drive nails, and do other things." 

"You can draw the sand, too, Jimmy," replied 
Thomas. 

"Sand ! What do you do with sand?" exclaimed 



BOY CARPENTER. IX ^ 



James, forgetting that mortar was necessary. It 
was excusable, however, since he was familiar only 
with mud, that made the log-house tight. 

{ To make mortar with, of course ; we must have 
mortar for plastering," Thomas answered. "lean 
get lime, brick, nails, and windows at Cleveland." 

"And you'll take me along with you, I s'pose," 
suggested James. 

" Yes ; I can chuck you in most anywhere. Per- 
haps I shall need your help." 

James had not been to Cleveland at that time. It 
was but a small place, of about a thousand inhab- 
itants, though growing rapidly. 

"How long will you be gone to Cleveland?" 
inquired James. 

" One day only ; can't spare any more time. A 
long day, perhaps." 

" When shall you go? " 

"Just as soon as I have engaged Mr. Treat." 

Mr. Treat was seen and engaged at once, and 
Thomas and James made the trip to Cleveland for 
windows, nails, etc. Bricks were obtained subse- 
quently, without going to Cleveland. 

A few days only elapsed before the carpenter and 
Thomas were at work on the new house. James, 
too, was not a mere spectator. He was far more 
interested in the erection of the house than he would 
have been in a circus. It was an era in his life. 
All the spare moments he could snatch from the 
farm-work and care of the stock he devoted to the 



Tl6 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

new house. He had drawn the sand before the 
carpenter began to frame the building. 

" Here, Jimmy, I see you want to help," said Mr. 
Treat. "Just take this chisel and mallet, and put 
this mortise through as you have seen me do the 
others. I guess you can do it." 

"Yes, I can do that," James answerec}* elated with 
the idea of being able to render assistance ; and 
with mallet and chisel the mortise was hurried 
through. 

" Give us another," exclaimed James, proud of his 
achievement. 

"What!" responded Mr. Treat, " got that done 
so quick? " 

"Yes, all done ; look at it," answered James. 

"And well done, too," said Mr. Treat, examining 
the mortise. " Pretty good for a boy." 

"Can I do another?" continued James. 

"Yes, a dozen if you want to ; " and the carpen- 
ter started him on another mortise, and after that 
another, and another, until he completed the sixth. 

" You must fay your hand at planing now," said 
Mr. Treat. " A small boy to shove a plane, but I 
guess you can do it. Here (arranging a board on 
his bench), try this, and see how you make it." 

At that time planing machines were unknown, 
at least in that part of the country ; all the planing 
was done hy hand. In the newly-settled townships, 
like Orange, also, less planing was done; more 
roucvh boards were used. The frame-houses were 
of rude construction, having no particular style 



BOY CARPENTER. ny 

or comeliness, — just a comfortable place to live in, 
more comfortable and pleasant than log-cabins. 
Many of them could boast only of a single room 
below, — parlor, sitting-room, kitchen, and wash- 
room, all in one, — the second story remaining un- 
finished, and used for lodging, being divided into 
apartments by curtains. It was very little labor and 
small expense to erect such a dwelling. Others 
were somewhat more elaborate, having two, and 
even three rooms below, with sleeping-rooms finished 
above. The Garfield house contained three rooms 
below, and two above, unfinished. Hence, seventy- 
five dollars was ample to buy nails, bricks, lime, 
and other necessary articles, and to pay the car- 
penter in addition. 

James went on with the planing very readily, for 
he had watched both Mr. Treat and Thomas in this 
part of the work until he comprehended the "nack," 
as the carpenter called it. As we have already 
said, his sharp observation was equal to a teacher, 
and it made him master of many things that he 
never could have known without this faculty. Cap- 
tain Samuel Brown, a bridge-builder, lived on the 
banks of the Tweed, across which he desired to 
build a bridge. While he was studying the subject, 
he chanced to walk in his garden early one fine 
morning, when his attention was arrested by a spi- 
der's-web across his path. A careful examination 
of the web suggested to him the idea of a suspen- 
sion-bridge, constructed by the use of iron ropes or 
chains, as the spider had built his light bridge. No 



n8 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

indifferent gazer would take the hint of a suspension- 
bridge from the web of a spider, but sharp, discrimi- 
nating observation took the hint. 

James' keen observation enabled him to build 
many suspension-bridges over impassable places in 
his boyhood and youth, and, in comparison with 
some of them, his success with carpenter's tools is 
scarcely worth mentioning. 

" I like this," said James, as he turned over the 
well-planed board to the carpenter, "its fun ! " 

:f You will not find muchy^;? in it when you have 
kept at it all day," replied the carpenter. " It takes 
elbow-grease to do this work well." 

"Elbow-grease !" repeated James ; "what's elbow- 
grease? " 

" It is sweat, that is pouring out of you now, 
Jimmy," the carpenter replied. "Can't do much at 
planing without putting sweat into it." 

"Sweat alone won't run a plane," rejoined James, 
intimating to the carpenter that brains were needed 
as much as work. 

" That is so," replied Mr. Treat; "but you under- 
stand what I mean. The most skilful workman will 
find hard labor in this business ; and to do it well, 
he must be willing to sweat." 

" If sweat is proof of doing it well, then the board 
is well-planed, Mr. Treat, for I sweat enough," 
James added. 

"You have done it well ; I couldn't have done it 
better myself," replied Mr. Treat. "You was born 
to be a carpenter, I guess." 



BOY CARPENTER. n 
£ 1 

" I'd like to be one," interrupted James, " if I could 
be a good one." 

"Well, you would make a good one, my boy, 
judging from the work you have done. Perhaps 
you will be a boss-carpenter before you are twenty- 
one. Who knows?" 

" I couldn't be that without a chance," remarked 
James, intimating that a chance was scarcely possi- 
ble for a boy in his circumstances. 

" Of course not ; but w r here there's a will there's a 
way." 

" That's what mother says." 

" And that is what overcomes difficulties," con- 
tinued Mr. Treat. " But there are more boards 
(pointing to a pile on the ground) if you want to do 
more of this sort of work." 

Another board was laid on the bench, and James 
continued to drive the plane for an hour and more. 
He was general errand-boy when he was about the 
building, so that he could not use plane or chisel 
long, without interruption. It was, "Go here," and 
"go there;" "Get this," and "get that;" to all of 
which demands he cheerfully responded. 

The raising of the house was a grand affair to 
James. It was the first house-raising he ever at- 
tended, and it was a great novelty. He was sent to 
notify the neighbors of the event on a given day, 
and to solicit their assistance. The neighbors were 
thoroughly glad that Mrs. Garfield was going to 
have a new house, and many were their praises of 
the son who thus provided for his worthy mother. 



120 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

They were promptly on hand at the time, and the 
frame went up without mistake or accident. And now 
came another treat for James. He had had his eye 
upon a keg of nails for some days, anticipating the 
highest kind of pleasure from driving them. It was 
sport for him to drive nails, as it is for boys gener- 
ally, and he expected to have his fill of the fun. 

"Now, Jimmy, you can try your hand at driving 
nails," said Mr. Treat, addressing the boy-carpenter. 
'That is pretty work, and won't require quite so 
much elbow-grease." 

" I have a particular liking for driving nails," re- 
plied James ; "where shall I begin?" 

" Right here, where I have put in these two. Lay 
them just as I have laid these, and it will be right. 
See if you can r hit the nail on the head ; ' some 
boys never can do it, and so they grow up to be 
men, and live and die, without ever r hitting the nail 
on the head.' ' Mr. Treat cast a knowing look at 
James as he said it, and a smile played over his 
face, as if curious to see how his figurative expres- 
sion was taken. 

" I can hit that sort of a nail on the head, if I can't 
any other," answered James, with a smile, under- 
standing the drift of his figure of speech. And 
hastily he let drive his hammer at a nail, and missed 
it the first time, much to his chagrin. 

" Missed the first blow ! " exclaimed the carpen- 
ter, with a shout of laughter. " You didn't do that 
as well as you did the planing and mortising. How 
is that?" 



BOY CARPENTER. 121 

w Only a blunder," James replied, with evident 
mortification. 

"Well, see if you can strike again without blun- 
dering," responded Mr. Treat, laughing. r There's 
a f knack ' in driving nails as well as in planing 
boards. Just get the 'knack' of the thing, and it 
will go." 

" Here goes the f knack,' then," exclaimed James, 
as his hammer struck the nail squarely on the head. 
" The f knack ' it is, every time ! Nails are made to 
drive, and I will drive them." And his hammer 
flew with unerring aim, as nail after nail was driven 
in, with a will that signified determination and force 
of character. Missing the first blow just set him on 
his taps, resolved that a steady aim and square hit 
should attend everv blow that followed. He learned 
the lesson of carefulness and brave endeavor from his 
failure, so that he became more expert in the use of 
the hammer than he would have been otherwise. 
Such is the case with all boys who win ; a failure 
arouses their latent skill and energy, and they bid 
defiance to failures thereafter. In hisyoiith, Curran, 
who became the famous Irish orator, broke down on 
his first attempt to speak in a debating society. He 
was a stammerer, and when he rose in his place 
his stuttering speech was worse than ever. He 
floundered at first, stammered out something no- 
body could understand, and then stood speechless. 
His companions roared with laughter. One said, in 
a low voice, " Orator Mum ! " Another peal of 



122 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

laughter followed this new title ; and it aroused the 
invincible spirit of the boy. 

"You may laugh now," he shouted, finally, "but 
I will conquer this stammering tongue, and some day 
you will listen and commend." All of which came 
to pass exactly as prophesied. The gist of the mat- 
ter was in him, and the mortifying failure served to 
bring it out. 

"Nothing like being plucky," remarked Mr. Treat, 
when he witnessed James' success in driving nails. 
" Pluck wins when luck loses." 

" Mother says there is no such thing as hick" re- 
sponded James. 

'Your mother is about right, according to my no- 
tion," answered Mr. Treat. " Boys that depend on 
luck for a livelihood go pretty hungry sometimes. 
I'd rather a boy of mine would have a single ounce 
of pluck than a whole pound of luck. Luck is like 
an old United States bank bill, of very uncertain 
value ; but pluck is good as gold all the time." 

" Well," said James, jocosely, " you must admit 
that my first blow was a very unlucky one." 

rr Unlucky ! the deuce it was ! " exclaimed Mr. 
Treat. "It was just what you said it was, f a 
blunder,' and a blunder is neither lucky nor un- 
lucky. But you have made amends, so go ahead 
with you nailing." 

And James did go ahead, spending every moment 
possible in labor upon the new house, and acquiring 
facility in the use of tools that served him a good 
turn many years thereafter. To the last day's la- 



BOY CARPENTER. 12 t > 

bor upon the house James rendered all the assistance 
he could, happy only in the thought that he could 
make himself useful. Nor was this the best part of 
the discipline. James received a kind of education 
when the house was building that has proved of 
great advantage to him through life. Before the 
house was completed, he conceived the idea of mak- 
ing the carpenter's trade a source of profit. It was 
on his mind day after day, the last thing he 
thought of before falling asleep at night, and the 
first thing when he awoke in the morning. He di- 
vulged his purpose to no one, but pondered it for 
several months in his own heart. The family had 
removed into the new house, and Thomas had re- 
turned to Michigan, and James was manager of the 
farm-work. 

" Mother," he said one day, when he could not 
keep his purpose a secret any longer, " I have a 
plan to earn some money." 

"What is it?" 

" To work at the carpenter's trade." 

"I'm afraid that plan won't work." 

"Why?" 

f You have enough to do on the farm now, and 
you can't do both." 

" I only meant to work at it when I had no work 
on the farm to do, — a job now and then." 

"It will be difficult to find such jobs." 

" Perhaps it will, but I can try, and you believe 
in trying." James emphasized the words try and 
trying, because his mother often made the remark 
to her children, "There is nothing like trying.''' 



124 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

"Yes, I believe in trying always, and you may 
try as hard as you please to find a job." 

" I'm going to Mr. Treat ; perhaps he may have 
a job at planing or something of the kind. I want 
to earn some money for you as well as Thomas. I 
will go to Michigan when I am old as he is." 

"One son in Michigan is enough, I think. Be- 
sides, I hope the day will come when you can be 
more useful than you can be in chopping wood or 
planing boards." 

" I don't know what there is better than such work, 
to help you." 

" There is somebody else in the world to help be- 
sides me," replied his mother, earnestly ; " and I 
don't want you to feel that you are always to be 
bound to this little township and farm." 

" I don't expect to be bound to it always," retorted 
James ; " but I am bound to get a job at carpenterin' 
this very day, if I can ; and I am going over to see 
Mr. Treat." 

Within less than an hour James entered the car- 
penter-shop. 

" Halloo, Jimmy ! that you? How's your moth- 
er?" exclaimed Mr. Treat, in a very jolly way, as 
he was wont to do. 

"She is well." 

"Not much farming to do just now, I suppose?" 
continued Mr. T., inquiringly. 

"No, not very much ; and I came over to see you 
about some work." 



BOY CARPENTER. 



125 



"Ah, that's what brought you here ! I see now; 
what sort of work do you want to do? " 

"Your kind of work, of course, carpenterin'." 

"All right, Jimmy ! Glad to see there are no lazy 
bones in you. I hate lazy boys above all things, 
and I know that you don't belong to that class." 

" I hope not," answered James ; " I thought I 
might as well be earning a little something for 
mother, now Tom's gone, and so I came to see if 
you could give me a job." 

" That's noble, to help your mother. Boys who 
stick to their mothers don't often make a failure, 
especially boys with such a mother as you have. 
You can't think too much of your mother. Them's 
the boys I like to give a job to." 

"Can you give me a job?" James interrupted, 
evidently thinking that Mr. Treat was making a 
pretty long story over the affair. 

"Yes, my boy, I can, and I am right glad to do 
it, too. There is a pile of boards that I want 
planed, and I know that you can plane them well. 
I haven't forgot how you worked on the house." 

"How much will you pay me?" 

" One cent a board ; and that will be pretty good 
pay." 

"When do } T ou want them done?" 

"Just as soon as you can ; the quicker the better." 

"I will come to-morrow and begin." 

" All right, sonny ; begin to-morrow, and end 
when you please." 

"You wouldn't like to have me keep the job on 



126 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



hand a month, would you?" replied James, pleas- 
antly, thinking about the words, " end as you 
please." 

" You won't do that, Jimmy. I know that you 
will put it through just as soon as possible, and that 
will suit. When I said r end it as you please,' I 
knew that you would please to end it as soon as you 
could. Your money is ready as soon as the job is 
done." 

" I'll be on hand to-morrow, just as soon as I've 
done my chores," remarked James, and left. 

It was a proud moment for James, and exultation 
beamed in his eye when he reached home, and re- 
ported his good fortune to his mother. 

" It will be the first money I ever earned," said 
James. 

"And you are pretty young to earn it," replied 
his mother. " I'm glad you have the job. I hardly 
thought you would find one." 

" Trying brought it," responded James, with a 
very suggestive expression on his face. 

" I guess Mr. Treat made the job on purpose for 
you ; he is a great friend of yours," added Mrs. Gar- 
field. "I know he would be glad to help you to all 
the jobs possible. When are you goin' to begin it? " 

"To-morrow, early as I can." 

"Well, be careful and not overwork. Two hours 
a day is as much as you ought to w r ork at plan- 
ing ; three hours at most." 

" I shall work six hours to-morrow, certainly," 
replied James. " I should laugh to see myself work 



BOY CARPENTER. l2 y 

two hours, and then cry r baby,' and come home ; 
and I guess Mr. Treat would laugh, too." 

" I think Mr. Treat will agree with me exactly, 
that boys must not overwork ; and you are so am- 
bitious, James, that you will overwork before }'ou 
know it, unless somebody warns you." Mrs. Gar- 
field expressed just the opinion that every thoughtful 
parent w^ould express. James had more energy and 
ambition than he had discretion, so that he was 
blind to the value of his mother's counsel. 

" If you see me coming home to-morrow in two 
hours, or three, you may know that I've lost an arm 
or finished the job," remarked James, very suggest- 
ively. And here the conversation closed. 

James went to his job the next day with more de- 
termination than ever, much as he had shown of this 
admirable quality before. If his mother looked into 
his eye, or observed his compressed lips, as he went 
out of the door, she must have been satisfied that 
three hours planing would not satisfy his ambi- 
tious desires on that day. Mr. Treat gave him cor- 
dial words of welcome, in his jovial way, assuring 
him that the "Early bird catches the worm," at the 
same time handing him a jack-plane. James stripped 
off his jacket and vest, leaving only his shirt and 
jean trousers to encumber him. He was bare-footed, 
of course, as the luxury of shoes could not be af- 
forded, except in the winter. He was scarcely tall 
enough to work handily at the bench, but he seemed 
to straighten himself up one or two inches taller than 
usual for the occasion. He went to work like a 



128 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

man. Every board was twelve feet long; and by 
the time he had planed ten of them his mind was 
fully made up to what nobody knew except himself. 
They found out, however, at night. All through 
the day the plane was shoved rapidly, and great 
beads of sweat stood upon the boy's brow, but no 
tired look invested his countenance for a moment. 
Before the sun went down he exclaimed, laying 
aside the plane, 

" One hundred boards, Mr. Treat, done ! count 
them and see." 

"Not a hundred, my boy, you don't mean that, do 
you?" 

"Count them, and see; a hundred boards accord- 
ing to my count." 

"A great day's work, if that is the case," said 
Mr. Treat, as he proceeded to count the boards. 

" One hundred it is, surely," remarked Mr. Treat, 
completing the count. "Too much for a boy of your 
age and size to do in one day. I wouldn't advise 
you to do more than half that another day." 

"I'm not much tired," said James. 

" That is not the thing, my boy ; thirty years from 
now you may feel tired from this day's labor more 
than you do now." 

" If it takes' as long as that to get tired, then the 
tired part is far off," responded James, not appreci- 
ating the wise remark of his employer. 

"Well, now comes the best part of your day's 
work, the pay," remarked Mr. Treat. "Let us see, 
one hundred boards takes one hundred cents to pay 



BOY CARPENTER. l2 g 

for them, that is just one dollar ! A great day's 
work for a boy-carpenter ! Now, you count, and I'll 
count." And he proceeded to count out one hundred 
cents, making quite a little pile of coin when the 
dollar, all in cents, was ready for James' pocket. 

Reader. We might as well stop here as to pro- 
ceed further with the history of that day's labor. 
It would be quite impossible to describe James' feel- 
ings to you, as he pocketed the one hundred cents 
and started for home. That old jacket never cov- 
ered just such a breast as it did then. If we could 
only turn that bosom inside out, and have a full view 
of the boy's heart, we should learn what no writer 
can ever describe. It was a man's heart in a boy's 
breast. There was not room for it under the jacket. 
It swelled with inexpressible emotions, as ground- 
swells sometimes lift the ocean higher than usual. 
" One hundred cents, all in one day ! " The more he 
thought of it on his way home the prouder grew the 
occasion. rf Seventy-five days like that would yield 
him as much as Thomas brought from Michigan ! " 
The thought was too great for belief. That would 
not be half so long as Thomas was gone, and away 
from home, too. And so he thought and pondered, 
and pondered and thought, on his way home, his 
boyhood putting on manhood in more than one re- 
spect. He was "Great Heart," bare-footed and in 
jean trousers. 

Whether James intended to ape Thomas or not, 
we cannot say ; but, on reaching home, he unloaded 
the coppers into his mother's lap, saying, — 

9 



I 3 o LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

"Yours, mother." 

"All that, James?" 

" One hundred cents," was James' reply. 

"What ! earned a dollar to-day? " 

"Yes ; I planed a hundred boards." 

By this time Mrs. Garfield became as dumb as 
she was over the seventy-five dollars that Thomas 
brought to her. There was some trouble in her 
throat, and the power of speech left her. She could 
not tell what she thought, nor how she felt. If her 
eldest son had made her cry with kindness, the 
youngest one was doing the best he could to imitate 
his example. The little son could be handled as the 
big one could not be, and so the dear, good mother 
folded him to her breast, as the only way to tell her 
love when the tongue was voiceless. 




IX. 



BARN-BUILDING. 




AMES' job at Treat's carpenter-shop in- 
troduced him into further business in that 
line. The winter school, however, inter- 
vened, and James attended it without the 
loss of a single day. The day after the school 
closed, Mr. Treat called. 

"I'm after James," said he to Mrs. Garfield. "I 
have a barn to build for Mr. Boynton, and can give 
him a job before his farm-work begins." 

"That will suit him," replied Mrs. Garfield. "I 
think he likes that kind of work better than farming." 
Just then James made his appearance. 
'Young man, I'm after you," said Mr. Treat to 
him. 

" For what? " asked James. 
"Another job of work." 
"Planing boards?" 



"No. Better than that." 
"What?" 



131 



132 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" Building a barn for Mr. Boynton." 

"I'd like that," said James ; "I want to learn to 
build a barn 1113' self." 

"You can, easily. That's not much of a job." 

" When do you want me ? " 

" Right off, — to-morrow, if you can." 

"To-morrow it is, then." 

" With other work I have in the shop I can keep 
you at it until farming begins." 

"That will just suit me. Shall I work by the 
day ? " 

"Yes, by the day, if you will. I'll give you not 
less than forty cents a day, nor more than fifty, 
according as you get along with it." 

" I'll be satisfied with that, and will be on hand 
to-morrow morning," James answered, as Mr. Treat 
was leaving. 

" f Nothing like trying,' mother," said James, after 
the carpenter was gone, repeating her old, familiar 
saw. " I shouldn't have got this job if I hadn't tried 
for one last fall." 

" Very likely not," replied his mother ; " and you 
would not have had this if you had not done the first 
one so well. Nothing like doing things well, always 
remember that." 

" It's almost equal to trying, isn't it?" added James, 
roguishly. 

" Perhaps it is more than equal to it. They who 
do their work well, are the ones who get work. 
People don't want botchers about." 

" What are botchers ? Blunderers ? " 



BA RN-B UILDING. 



133 



" Those who don't do their work well — they are 
botchers. Your father used to say, ' What's worth 
doing at all, is worth doing well,' and he was about 
right. Another thing he used to say was, * If you 
know a thing, know it certainly.'" 

" I don't see how a person can really know any- 
thing without knowing it certainly," remarked 
James. " If I know anything, I know it." 

"Sometimes you know a lesson better than you do 
at other times, do you not?" answered his mother. 

"That may be ; but if I don't know a lesson cer- 
tainly, I don't know much about it," replied James. 
" I should be ashamed not to know a lesson cer- 
tainly." 

"I hope you always will be," remarked his mother ; 
"and, what is more, I hope you will always be 
ashamed not to do your work thoroughly." 

"I mean to learn how to frame a barn," said 
James. 

" I should think you might learn that easy enough," 
responded Mrs. Garfield. "It's true I don't know 
much about it, but it doesn't appear to me to be very 
difficult to learn to frame a barn." 

" I know that I can learn how," added James. 

" Mr. Treat w r ill give you a good chance to learn 
how, I think, if you tell him what you want." 

" I shall do that." And James did do it. As soon 
as he commenced work the next day, he made 
known his wishes. 

"Mr. Treat, I want to learn how to frame a barn," 
he said. " Can't I learn?" 



134 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



" Most too much of a youngster for that business/* 
answered Mr. Treat ; " but you can have the chance. 
Just keep your eyes open to see how the work is 
laid out, and it is easy enough." 

"Well, I can do that; my eyes are usually open 
in the daytime," said James, naively. 

" And you must see with your brain as well as 
with your eyes, if you would learn," added Mr. 
Treat. f You see how that is, don't you? " 

" I see." 

" You must have a little idea of the plan to begin 
with, though ; " and Mr. Treat proceeded to exhibit 
his plan to the boy, explaining it to him as well as 
he could. James took in the principal idea in the 
outset, and proceeded to assist in framing the build- 
ing with increased intelligence. An examination of 
the plan showed him that it was more necessary for 
his " brains to see " the why and wherefore than he 
had supposed. But Mr. Treat was deeply inter- 
ested in teaching the boy, and so kept him at work 
directly under his eye. He directed his attention 
both to the plan and the frame, that he might learn 
the real use of the former to the carpenter. 

" Can't do anything without a plan," remarked 
Mr. Treat one day to James. 

"How is it about milking?" asked James, face- 
tiously. 

"It is true in milking, my boy. By -plan I mean 
system, and you can't milk without system. About 
such a time, morning and night, you milk the cows, 
and that systematic way enables you to accomplish 



BARN-B UILDING. 



135 



other work more successfully. Then, too, the cows 
give rrrore milk by milking them systematically." 

" I didn't know that," said James, surprised that 
cows would give more milk by systematic milking. 

" It is true, whether you knew it or not," remarked 
Mr. Treat. "Even the Lord would make a failure 
in running this world without system. The fact is, 
Jimmy, you have to run your farm on God's plan, or 
it won't run at all. If you should plant two kernels 
of corn where God means that only one shall grow, 
you would have your labor for your pains. You 
can raise no corn in that way. You could raise a 
plenty of stalks, but mighty little corn. Hens would 
starve to death in such a corn-field. If you should 
sow two bushels of wheat where there should be 
only one bushel on the Lord's plan, your biscuit 
would be pretty small next winter." 

James laughed at this eccentric way of putting 
things, and, at the same time, he received some 
very valuable ideas from the sensible carpenter, who 
continued, very much in the same vein : 

" f A place for everything, and everything in its 
place,' is an old adage, and just as true as Genesis. 
The men who obey this rule are the men who suc- 
ceed ; and the men who never mind it are the ones 
who go to smash. I've seen that over and over. 
There's no use a-trying to run things on the line of 
disorder and confusion ; they'll get upset, sure. No 
man can amount to much in ^iis world except on 
system. Remember that, Jimmy, and you will come 
out all right." 



136 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

"You mean a time to study, and a time to work, 
and a time to play?" inquired James. 

" That's it ; only I should cut the time to play 
pretty short," replied Mr. Treat. " Not much time 
to play in Ohio, when we have all that we can do 
to make the ends meet. 'All play and no work 
makes Jack a dull boy,' they say, and I guess 'tis 
true. But, look here, have we got this right? " 
(springing up to examine his work). " I have been 
so busy talking that I didn't stop to think what I was 
about. All talking and careless work will make a 
botch of it." 

The work was found all right and in a good state 
of progress. And now in silence the labor went on 
for an hour or two, James minding his P's and Q\s, 
and the carpenter keeping an eye on his plan and 
his work. 

We must state the upshot of this barn-building in 
a word, as space is dwindling away. The barn was 
completed according to the contract, and without 
a break from the start. Perhaps James could not 
have framed a barn without assistance when the 
building was completed, but he learned a great deal 
about the carpenter's trade while he worked upon it. 
Evening after evening he studied over it alone. 
He drew a plan of his own, and studied it hour after 
hour, in order to learn how to frame a barn. With 
the same persistent efforts that he mastered a prob- 
lem in arithmetic, he studied his plan of framing a 
building ; and although he did not become master 
of the art, he, nevertheless, approximated to it. 



BA RN-BUILDIXG. T 37 



When the barn was completed Mr. Treat paid James 
fifty cents a day, amounting to nearly twenty dollars, 
saying, 

'You've earned it, every cent of it, James." 

During the previous winter James made great pro- 
gress in his studies, by improving the long evenings. 
He had learned about all he could learn in the 
district school, although he continued to go in the 
winter time. In some things he was more advanced 
than his teacher, and often put questions which the 
teacher could not answer. He mastered Adams' 
Arithmetic during the winter. Lying flat on the 
floor, that the light of the fire might shine on his 
book, he studied arithmetic every evening for weeks, 
until he had learned all there was to learn in it, 
and he was really more competent to teach that 
science than the man who presided over the district 
school. The scholars said that James actually per- 
formed a problem one day that had proved too much 
for their teacher, much to the mortification of the 
latter. 

K I think the answer in the book must be wron<r," 
remarked the teacher, after an ineffectual attempt to 
solve the problem for a class. "You may try it, 
Henry, and when you are through, bring me the 
slate." 

Henry Boynton was good in arithmetic, but he 
could not bring an answer like that in the book, 
though it differed from the teacher's answer. 

"I can't do it," said Henry. "My answer is not 
like that in the book." 



1 38 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



" Bring your slate to me," said the teacher. 

Henry carried his slate to the teacher, who exam- 
ined his work without pointing out an error, but 
adding, 

" The answer in the book must be wrong." 

Here James interrupted by saying, 

"I did it once." 

" And did you get the same answer as the book?" 

"Yes, sir, I think so." 

" Let me see you do it, and then bring your slate 
to me." 

James went to work in his earnest way, and 
solved the problem very readily. 

" I've done it," said James, carrying his slate to 
the teacher. 

The latter closely examined his solution of the 
problem, and found it to be correct, agreeing exactly 
with the text-book. 

" It is true, James, you have performed it," said 
the teacher, with evident mortification, w r hich the 
larger scholars enjoyed. It was fun for them to 
have James beat the master. They had an exalted 
opinion of James' abilities, and now he became their 
oracle. A boy who was a match for the master was 
a prodigy in their view. They looked up to him 
with a kind of reverence, though he was their com- 
panion. 

We must not forget to mention one book that he 
read during that winter, " Robinson Crusoe." We 
know not how it came into his hands, but he ob- 
tained it in some way, and read it twice through. 



BARN-BUILDING. j^g 



Flat on his face before the blazing fire, he read the 
volume hour after hour, and wondered over it. He 
was very fond of reading about adventures; but this 
book surpassed anything of the kind he had ever 
read. 

"I wish this book belonged to me," he said to his 
mother one day. 

" If you read it much more its contents will be- 
long to you," his mother replied. 

"I wish I owned it, then," added James. 
"I wish you did, too," responded his mother. 
:t What is there about it that interests you so much, 
my son?" 

"It's splendid," was James' answer. "I never 
read such an interesting book. I could read it ten 
times over, and not get tired of it. I wonder if 
there are any more books like it." 

"I suppose there are, if we knew where to find 
them," Mrs. Garfield answered. 

"I'd be willing to hunt one while for them," said 
James. 

The impression made by that book upon his mind 
was never effaced. It not only sharpened his appetite 
yet more for reading, if that were possible, but it 
set him to inquiring more than ever concerning books 
which he had never seen. 

Some time after this, his cousin, William Boynton, 
came into possession of a copy of Josephus, and he 
shared the pleasure of reading it with James. They 
read it, by the hour together, and they read it sep- 
arately, too, over and over. When the winter 



140 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



school opened, the boys asked the teacher for the 
privilege of reading it in the class, for their reading 
lesson ; and the privilege was granted. All winter 
they read it in school, in addition to the hours they 
read it out of school. When James was through 
with that volume, and ready to take up another, he 
could repeat pages of it, and he can repeat them to- 
day. 

The following summer two incidents occurred 
that illustrate the character of James at that time. 
The first was a proposition from a companion, 
whose name we do not know, but whom we will 
call David, to visit a mutual acquaintance in a dis- 
tant part of the township, on the Sabbath. 

" Not on Sunday," said James. 

"Why?" 

" Because it is not ri^ht." 

" If you and I do nothing worse than that, Jim, 
we shall be pretty good fellers." 

" We should not be any better, certainly, for do- 
ing that." 

"Nor any worse, in my opinion," rejoined David. 

" My mother would not consent to it," continued 
James. 

" I don't know whether mine would, and I don't 
care ; I shan't ask her," said David. 

" I never should go anywhere against my mother's 
advice, continued James. " I know what she thinks 
of the Sabbath, and I respect her feelings. I shan't 
go on Sunday." 

"And you can't go on any other day, because 



BA RN-B UILDING. 



141 



you have so much to do," added David; "so we 
must give up going at all, for all that I see." 

" Rather than go on Sunday, I shall not go at all," 
was James' emphatic reply. " But it is not certain 
that we can never go on another day. Wait and 
see." 

" I guess it will be wait" answered David, sar- 
castically, M and keep waiting, and take it out in 
waiting." 

f Well, I shall wait a good while before I shall go 
on Sunday," added James. "If I had no scruples 
of my own about it, I could take no comfort, feeling 
that I went against mother's wishes." 

This emphatic refusal ended the matter. It was 
a fair illustration of the frank and open way that 
James had of doing things. There was no artifice 
about him, no double-dealing or deceitfulness. He 
would not consent to wrong-doing even to please his 
best friend. He never resorted to subterfuges to ex- 
cuse himself when tempted to do wrong. He spoke 
right out plainly and bluntly, as if it were the only 
way to speak. Not that he seemed to have a higher 
standard of morality than others, but it was his na- 
ture to be frank and honest with every one, and he 
wanted others to be so towards him. Companions 
always knew just where to rind him at all times. 
They knew that he could not be counted upon for 
questionable practices at all. He was full of life, 
and enjoyed a good time as much as any boy in 
town, ready for a frolic at all suitable times, social, 
witty, and sharp; but he could not be persuaded or 



142 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



cajoled into wrong-doing. He showed his colors at 
once. 

The other incident illustrates his kindness to ani- 
mals. The old cat and James were particular 
friends, and appeared to understand each other per- 
fectly. He was in the garden with James one day, 
in whose society he seemed to find real pleasure. 
The same boy we have spoken of, David, came 
along, and observing the cat, began pelting him 
with stones, frightening puss so that he fled to the 
house. David might as well have pelted James 
with stones. Stone his cat, and he was stoned. 

" That's outrageous," exclaimed James. 

" Only a cat," answered David. 

" Only cruelty, that will stone a cat," responded 
James. 

" I didn't think it was your cat." 

" It don't make any difference whose cat it is ; 
a cat is a cat." 

"And a rat is a rat," added David, designing to 
make fun of the affair. 

"I can't bear to see an animal abused," continued 
James. 

"I didn't hit him," pleaded David. 

"No thanks to you ; you meant to hit him. You 
frightened him half out of his wits." 

" He hasn't any wits to be frightened out of," re- 
torted David. " Nothing but a cat." 

" And so you might abuse any animal in the 
world, and say r Nothing but a dog; ' f Nothing but 



BA RN-B UILDING. 



1 43 



a horse;' f Nothing but an ox.' I wouldn't abuse 
any creature so." 

"I don't think you would, Jim. You are too ten- 
der-hearted for that. A mouse could play on your 
chin safely if he only knew you." 

" He wouldn't play on yours, Dave, if he knew you, 
that's certain. It would be the most dangerous 
place he could find." 

"Well, Jim, ask pardon of your cat for me, will 
you? I'm sorry that I offended his majesty. I'll 
befriend cats forever now." And David went on his 
way, leaving James to his reflections. 

This was another good trait of James', kindness 
to animals. He was as kind to them as he was to 
human beings. He could see no reason for abusing 
any creature, however insignificant. Abuse was 
cruelty, in his view. 

Still another incident may be rehearsed here as 
well as any place. James was a boy of spirit, 
though he was neither pugnacious nor malicious. 
He wanted to see the rights of the smallest boy re- 
spected, and he would contend for it if necessary. In 
school there was a fatherless boy like himself, and 
no big brother to take his part. Some of the larger 
boys were in the habit of teasing him, and James de- 
clared that it should stop. James was older than the 
boy, though not as old as the boys who teased him. 

"It's too bad," exclaimed James; "and if you 
tease him any more you tease me." 

" Tease you it is, then," answered one of the boys, 
with a motion and remark indicating the attempt. 



i 4 4 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



rr Just as you like," continued James. ff You can 
operate on me, but you shan't on that little fellow 
unless you are stronger than I am. Take boys of 
your size, or none." 

" You are mightily taken with that little chap," said 
another boy ; " / don't see anything so very interest- 
ing about him." 

"Well, I do ; he hain't got any father nor big 
brother, and I'll stand in the place of both to him in 
this school." 

"Daddy Jim and Brother Jim it is, then," ex- 
claimed a large boy, aiming to make all the fun of 
it possible. 

"Yes, anything you please, so long as you don't 
run on him," answered James, pleasantly. "I can 
stand it as long as you can." 

And thus he shamed the teasing of the little fel- 
low out of the large boys, exhibiting both courage and 
principle in the defence of the helpless lad. Taking 
advantage of the weak, poor, and friendless, ap- 
pealed to his higher and better nature as it does 
now. 

November came, and the harvesting was done. 
The carpenter came, also, saying, 

"Another barn, James. Want another job? " 

"Yes, aching for one," James replied. 

" All ready for you ; can you begin right off ? " 

"To-morrow, if you want." 

"You are a minute-man, I see." 

" I s'pose I am, though I don't know what that is." 

" Men, in the Revolution, who stood ready to de- 



BARX-BUILDING. 



145 



fend their country at a moment's warning, were 
minute-men." 

f Then, I'm a minute-man; I'm ready any minute 
for building a barn." 

" I want to put this one through in a hurry." 

"Whose is it?" 

"Bernard's, yonder." 

"Oh, over there?" 

It was further for James to travel than the other 
barn was; but it was all the same to him. 

"It's goin' to be a larger barn." 

"Much larger?" 

" Xo ; just enough to call it larger, that's all. 
See you to-morrow morning." And Mr. Treat hast- 
ened back, adding, as he turned to go, "same pay 
as before." 

The details must be omitted. The building of 
this barn provided James with additional facilities 
for learning how to frame a building; and he im- 
proved the opportunity. In many things he was 
able to go ahead without depending upon his em- 
ployer, the progress which he made in building the 



first barn beinir of <rreat service to him in building 
the second. 

ff Not a word of fault to find with you, James," 
remarked his employer, when the barn was com- 
pleted. " Work comes easy to you, and you earn 
your money." 

" I mean to know how to frame a barn yet," an- 
sw ered James. 

' Then you don't think you can quite do it yet? " 
10 



1 46 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" Hardly," said James. 

" Pluck and brains will accomplish it, and you 
have both," added Mr. Treat, intending to pay his 
young employe a fine compliment. 

" I'll give you another chance at it one of these 
days," Mr. Treat added. " I owe } 7 ou fifteen dollars, 
just." And he counted out the money, and passed 
it to the happy boy. 

" There ! the highest price I said, fifty cents a day ; 
and I'm well satisfied, too," Mr. Treat continued. 

James had just passed his thirteenth birthday, and 
he was developing rapidly into a stalwart boy for 
one of his age. The winter school opened, and he 
attended as usual, although he had about all there 
was in the text-books at his tongue's end. He could 
repeat a good part of his reading-book, and perform 
the problems in arithmetic with his eyes shut ; yet it 
was excellent discipline to go over them again. 

That winter he found somewhere another volume 
to read, that greatly interested him. It was next to 
" Robinson Crusoe," in his estimation. The book 
was " Alonzo and Melissa," well suited to fascinate 
a boy like him. Once reading did not satisfy him. 
There were two books now that towered above all 
the books he ever read, and he wondered if there 
were any more like them, if so, where? On the 
whole it was a profitable winter to him ; and he be- 
gan to feel that he could do better for his mother 
than to run her little farm. Just before the close of 
school, he said to his mother, 

" I've been thinking that I can do better for vou 



BA RN-B UILDING. 



147 



than to stay on the farm. I could get twelve dollars 
a month to go out to work." 

" Perhaps so," was all his mother said. 

"You could keep a cow, hire a man to plant what 
is necessary, and take care of it ; and it wouldn't 
cost a quarter as much as I can earn," James con- 
tinued. 

"And it would be four times as hard for you," 
responded Mrs. Garfield. " It's better for a boy like 
you to go to school while he can, and not labor all 
the time. Boys should not work too hard." 

"I knew what you'd say; I've learned that by 
heart," replied James. "But I was never hurt by 
work yet, and I never expect to be." 

"Nevertheless, you may be," responded his mother. 

"A feller may as well be earning something when 
he can ; there's need enough of it in this part of the 
world," added James. 

"In this part of the world ! " repeated his mother; 
" you don't seem to have so high an opinion of this 
part of the country as you might. What's the 
trouble with it?" 

" No trouble as I know, only a feller has a better 
chance in some other places." 

"Better chance for what? " asked his mother. 

"To get a living, or make a man, or most any- 
thing," answered James. 

"There's a better chance to get an education in 
some other places, I admit ; and I hope you will 
enjoy it some day," continued Mrs. Garfield. 

James knew much about the world now. All that 



148 LOG CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

Morse's Geography could teach him about his own 
and other countries he knew thoroughly. He had 
picked up much information, too, about New Eng- 
land and the State of New York ; and he under- 
stood very well that the opportunities for a boy to 
earn mone} 7 , study, and to rise in the world, were 
* greater in many other parts of the country. It was 
easy to discover the aspirations" of a noble spirit in 
the boy. He was beginning to, feel cramped and 
confined on the little farm. His soul was outgrow- 
ing its sphere of childhood, and was waiting to 
plume its wings for higher flights. The young 
eagle was getting ready to leave the nest, and soar. 
His mother did not look with favor upon the boy's 
suggestions. James must be content to live upon 
the farm for a while. Providence would open the 
way out into the broad world at the right time. 
" Wait for Providence." 

So James suppressed ambitious desires, and con- 
tented himself to remain at home, running the farm, 
working out by the day for the farmers, as opportu- 
nity offered, as well as working at barn-building. 
Before he was fifteen years old Mr. Treat gave him 
an opportunity to work on three more barns, and one 
shed, so that he did learn how to frame a barn, and 
was really a better carpenter, at fifteen years of age, 
than some of the carpenters in that region who 
claimed to have learned the trade. Being able to 
turn his hand to any kind of labor, he found a 
plenty to do, leaving him but limited time for play. 
James was as fond of sports as any other boy ; 



BARN-BUILDING. j 4 g 

and his genial nature, ready wit, and gentlemanly 
bearing united to make him popular with pleasure- 
seekers. Without him they had dull times. His 
presence added a charm to the social circle. 

As already intimated, he had grown into a large, 
strong boy ; as Mr. Treat sometimes said, " as 
strong as an ox." He could lift as much as the 
strongest man in the vicinity, although he was not 
agile. He was too large and heavy to be an expert 
at jumping or running ; but his practical wisdom 
was as manifest in sports as it was in works. He 
was such after he had passed his fourteenth birth- 
day, — more advanced and efficient than most youths 
of that day at eighteen. 

We shall close this chapter with a single incident, 
that occurred in the winter after James' fourteenth 
birthday. 

"Jim, will you go to Cleveland with me to-mor- 
row?" inquired Edwin Mapes of James, as he called 
at Mrs. Garfield's in the evening. " I'm goin' for 
father, to morrow." 

" I don't know ; perhaps I will," replied James, in 
a hesitating manner, as if it were doubtful. 

"Don't know?" Who does know if you don't? 
Come, go ; I want company," pleaded Edwin. 

"You'll have a cold ride," suggested James. 

" Not very cold if you go," responded Edwin. 
" You and I can keep warm anywhere in Ohio. 
Say yes, and I'll be off." 

"Be off? what's your hurry? sit down, and I 



ISO 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



will tell you in the course of half an hour," re- 
sponded James, teasingly. 

Edwin took a seat, whereupon James added : 

"Yes, I'll go, and be glad to; start as early as 
you please." 

" I shan't start very early ; no particular need of 
it. Goin' over and back, without stopping long," 
added Edwin. 

On the following day the two boys drove to 
Cleveland together. Mr. Mapes' horse was a capital 
roadster, and Edwin understood well how to drive 
him, and James could ride as fast as Edwin could 
drive, without raising a serious objection. So their 
trip was quick, and devoid of monotony. 

On their return, a rough, bloated fellow rode up 
behind them, and shouted, with a volley of oaths, 

" Out the way, boys, I'm in a hurry ; " and suiting 
his motions to the word he turned out to drive by 
them. 

"No, you don't," shouted Edwin, as he drew the 
reins tight, and gave his horse a cut with the whip ; 
and almost side by side the two teams flew along the 
road for a half mile, the whiskey-soaked traveler 
pouring out oaths at the boys with every blow of his 
whip. 

" Come on," shouted Edwin to the fellow, at the 
same time beckoning with his hand to him when he 
had left him ten or fifteen rods in the rear. " Come 
on ! Come on ! " 

They were too far in advance to hear his voice, 
but they could see the fellow's very expressive ges- 



BA RN-B UILDING. 1 5 1 

ticulations with his fist. James enjoyed the victory 
hugely, and shook his sides with laughter. 

" He told us to get out of the way, and we have," 
was about all the remark that James made during 
the contest. 

They drove on at a very good pace three or four 
miles, when they came up to a little country inn, 
with which both of them were familiar. 

"Let's go in and warm," proposed James; "my 
feet are cold as ice." 

" Aoreed," answered Edwin ; and turned the horse 
into the shed. In less than five minutes they were 
standing before the landlord's fire. In less than five 
minutes more the enraged man who tried to run by 
them drove up, and entered. 

" I've a good will to thrash you boys," he shouted 
at the top of his voice. 

The boys were very much surprised to see him in 
such a passion. 

"What you going to thrash us for?" answered 
Edwin. 

"Thrash you for, you insulting scamps? I'll let 
you know," and he shook his fist in the liveliest 
manner, at the same time belching forth a volley of 
oaths, that we omit, since they did not embelish his 
language, though they contributed some force to it. 

"Why didn't you let me go by, yon young ras- 
cals?" he continued. 

"You had a plenty of room to pass; as much 
room as we had, and the same right to the road," 
replied James, coolly. 



152 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" But I couldn't," the fellow bellowed, "you good- 
for-nothing brats." 

" That's not our fault," returned James. " Better 
blame your horse." 

The latter sentence had a ring of sarcasm in it, 
especially as the bo}^s laughed when it was spoken ; 
and the brutal man stormed again, and swore he 
would thrash them. 

"Better thrash me first," said James, straightening 
himself up to his full height, and appearing more 
like a strong man than a boy of fourteen years. The 
bully looked at him for a moment, as if querying 
whether his antagonist was not a man after all. 

"Why take you first?" he said, apparently some- 
what cowed. 

" Because you will never want to thrash him after- 
wards," answered James, in the most thundering 
voice he could roll out. The bully turned upon his 
heels, jumped into his carriage, and drove on. 

James and Edwin were soon on their way home, 
their conversation being upon the unusual experi- 
ence of the last hour. 

"I was glad that you scared him so," remarked 
Edwin. " He was a regular coward." 

"I knew he was a coward when we were talking 
with him," James replied. " If I hadn't, I should 
have kept still. I don't like to get into trouble with 
anybody." 

"I thought you was terribly courageous, for you," 
remarked Edwin. "You roared at him like thunder. 
Your big voice is enough to frighten any coward" 



BA RN-D UILDING. 



153 



"I hope that it will never frighten anybody else," 
was the only reply that James made. 

James was in no sense a bully. Nor was he given 
to brag. There was no boy in Orange township 
more gentlemanly and considerate than he ; none 
more averse to pugilistic contests. At the same 
time, he would stand up for his rights, and the rights 
of others. He would defend his companions, too, with 
great courage, if they were in the right. If they 
were wrong, he would not defend them at all ; and 
he would frankly state his reason. These facts suf- 
ficiently explain his encounter with the bully at the 
hotel. 




X. 



A BLACK-SALTER. 




HE following colloquy will explain a mat- 
ter that must not be omitted. 

" I have come again for James," said 
Mr. Smith, entering Mrs. Garfield's cot- 
tage. " Can't get along without him when we weed 
the peppermint." 

"Well, James will be glad to help you if he can, 
but he is pretty busy now on the farm," answered 
Mrs. Garfield. 

" Perhaps he can squeeze out two or three days 
now, and that will help me through," continued Mr. 
Smith. "I shall have twenty boys in the gang." 

"I should think that was enough without James," 
remarked Mrs. Garfield. 

"It's altogether too many if I don't have him," 
replied Mr. Smith. "You see, the boys do as well 
again when James leads them. Somehow he has 
wonderful influence over them." 

"I didn't know that," remarked Mrs. Garfield. 

"Well, it's true; and if you should see him lead- 

154 



A BLACK-SALTER. 



155 



ing off, and interesting them by stories, anecdotes, 
and fun, you'd be surprised. He is a fast worker, 
and all the boys put in and work as hard as they 
can to keep up, that they may hear his stories. The 
boys think the world of him." 

"I'm glad to hear such good things of him," re- 
marked Mrs. Garfield. " I'm willing that he should 
help you if he can." 

" I shouldn't mind paying him something extra if 
he will come," Mr. Smith continued. "I can afford 
to do that. Each boy does more work, and where 
there's twenty of them, it's considerable in my 
pocket." 

"Well, you can find James, he is somewhere on 
the farm ; and I'm willing he should go if you can 
fix it with him," said Mrs. Garfield. 

Mr. Smith went in search of James, and found 
him hard at work in the field. Making known his 
errand, James could not see how r it was possible for 
him to go, at least for a week. But Mr. Smith soon 
removed his objections, and arranged for him to 
come the next day. 

This Mr. Smith was a farmer, and his land, on 
the Chagrin Flats, was adapted to the cultivation of 
peppermint, which he raised for the market in large 
quantities. It was necessary to keep it thoroughly 
weeded, and for this purpose he employed a gang of 
boys at different times in the season. James had 
served him more than once in that work, and the 
shrewd farmer had noticed that the gang would try 
to keep up with James, so as to hear his stories and 



156 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE.- 

interesting conversation. James was a capital story- 
teller, and all that he ever read or studied was in his 
head. His remarkable memory served him a good 
purpose in company, whether in the field of pepper- 
mint, or elsewhere. He could recall almost any 
anecdote that he ever heard, and could relate what- 
ever he had learned about his own or other countries 
from Morse's Geography. Add to this his jovial na- 
ture, his conversational powers, and his singular tact, 
and we can readily understand how he could " lead 
the gang." 

So James became general of the peppermint bri- 
gade for a few days, to accommodate Mr. Smith, 
and again his precocity and large acquisitions of 
knowledge enabled him to lead them to victory over 
the weeds. The weeds melted away before their 
triumphant march, as the rebels disappeared before 
the Ohio Forty-second Regiment, sixteen years af- 
terwards. 

We said that James assisted Mr. Treat to build a 
shed, in addition to the several barns. The shed 
was the last building on which he worked for Mr. 
Treat, and it was about ten miles from home, near 
Cleveland. It was an addition to quite a large pot- 
ashery, the largest in all that region. A pot- 
ashery was an establishment containing vats for 
leeching ashes, and large kettles for boiling the 
lye, reducing it to potash, which, in its crude 
state, was called "black-salts." The manufac- 
turer of the article was called a " black-salter." 
The farmers in the region, when they cleared land, 



A BLACK-SALTER. ! 57 

drew the logs and branches of trees together into 
huge piles, and burned them, for the ashes they 
could collect therefrom, and which they sold to the 
black-salters. 

The black-salter for whom Mr. Treat built the 
shed, took a great fancy to James. It was rather 
singular that he did ; for he was a rough, unculti- 
vated man himself. Yet the politeness, tact, and 
brightness of James captivated the old man. Be- 
fore the shed was completed he resolved that he 
would have that uncommon boy in his employ, if 
possible. One day he took James aside, and said to 
him, 

" How'd yer like to come and work for me? " 

James was just fifteen years old at that time. The 
question was unexpected to James, and he hesitated. 

" I want jist sich a hand as yer are in my business," 
the Salter, whose name was Barton, continued. "I 
reckon yer can hgger 'nough for me." 

" I don't know about it," finally James replied ; "it 
is sorrfething I have not thought about. When do 
you want me ? " 

"Jist as soon as yer can ; yer can't come ter quick." 

K I couldn't agree to come until I have seen my 
mother about it, any way," continued James. " Per- 
haps she will object." 

" That's the sorter boy I 'sposed yer was, to mind 
yer mother. I like yer all the better for that." 

" How long will you want me? " inquired James. 

"Jist as long as yer '11 stay; as long as yer live, 
maybe." 



1^8 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" How much will you pay me?" 

" I'll give yer fourteen dollars a month, and that's 
two dollars extra pay." By this Barton meant that 
he would pay him two dollars a month more than 
he was wont to pay. The offer was proof that he 
was amazingly pleased with James. 

" I will consult my mother about it as soon as I go 
home, and let you know," said James. He would 
not go home until the shed was completed. He 
boarded with Barton. But the shed was almost fin- 
ished ; two days more would complete it. 

"How shall I know yer'll come?" said Barton, 
when the shed was done, and James was about re- 
turn in cr home. 

" If mother is willing I should engage, I will come 
next Monday. If you don't see me next Monday 
you may know that I shall not come." 

"That's bisniss," Barton replied. "Tell yer 
mother I kin do the right thing by yer." 

It was a rare offer to a boy fifteen years old — 
fourteen dollars a month. James regarded it in that 
light. And then, it was constant work as long as he 
pleased to continue ; that was a great consideration. 
One hundred and sixty-eight dollars a year ! The 
thought of so much pay elated him very much. 

"I have a chance to go right to work, mother, 
and work as many months as I please, at fourteen 
dollars a month," said James, as soon as he reached 
home. 

"Where," inquired his mother, with an air of sur- 
prise. 



A BLACK-SALTER. 



159 



"For Mr. Barton, the black-salter." 

" I don't think it is the right sort of business for 
you, James," replied his mother. 

" It's the right sort of pay though," James an- 
swered. " But why is it not a good business for 
me, mother? " 

" Because a rough class of men carry on the busi- 
ness, and you will be exposed to many evils," his 
mother said. 

" Exposed to evils enough anywhere," remarked 
James. " But I don't propose to attend to the evils, 
but to mv work." 

r I have no doubt of that, my son. Your inten- 
tions are good enough ; but you may be enticed 
away for all that." 

" I must be pretty w r eak, if that's the case." 

" We are all weaker than we think we are. f Let 
him that think eth he standeth take heed lest he fall.' 
We all have reason to adopt that advice." 

" Then you won't give your consent for me to 
go?" James said, inquiringly. 

" I don't say that." 

" What do you say, then?" 

" I say that you had better consider the matter 
well before you take so important a step." 

" Can't think of it a great while, for I have prom- 
ised to begin work for him next Monday, if I begin 
at all." 

"As soon as that?" 

" Yes ; and it looks to me as if the time had come 



160 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

for me to give up the farm, that I may earn more for 
you/' 

" What did Mr. Treat say about it? " 

" He said nothing about it, because he knew noth- 
ing about it. I didn't tell him about it." 

" I suppose you must go out into the world some 
time, and perhaps now is the time." 

" You told me, once, to wait for Providence to 
open the door," continued James ; " and if Provi- 
dence didn't open this door then I shall never know 
when Providence does open the door." 

The truth was, Mrs. Garfield half thought that 
Providence would not open the door of a black- 
salter's establishment to her son ; but she did not 
say so. She smiled at James' application of her 
teachings about Providence, and remarked : 

" Perhaps Providence did open this door. If you 
go to Mr. Barton's, and resist all temptations to evil, 
and maintain your good character, that will be proof 
that Providence opened this door. The proof of it 
depends on yourself." 

"Then you give your consent?" said James. 

"Yes, I give my consent, and hope it will turn 
out for the best." 

Barton was a happy man on the following Mon- 
day, when James presented himself at his door, with 
all his worldly possessions tied up in a pocket-hand- 
kerchief. 

" Yer've come," he said. "Yer kin put your duds 
in yer sleeping-room ; " and he showed him where 



A BLACKS ALTER. 161 

he would lodge, and then proceeded to the manu- 
factory for work. 

The establishment was a nasty place, and the 
business, or much of it, was dirty. Shoveling ashes, 
attending to the boilers, and disposing of the black- 
salts, was not an inviting business. However, James 
did not have the dirtiest part of the work to do, un- 
less it was occasionally. He kept the books, waited 
on men who delivered ashes at the establishment, 
paying their bills, and he waited on customers also, 
acting; as salesman. He did other things w r hen ne- 
cessary, always improving his time, and looking 
after the establishment, as if he were Barton's son. 
He was the first one at the ashery in the morning, 
and the last one to leave at night. Barton soon 
learned to trust him with implicit confidence, and a 
father could not have been kinder to the boy than 
he was. 

One day a man brought a load of ashes, saying, 
"There are twenty-five bushels." James had not 
been at the establishment long, before he resolved 
to measure all ashes purchased as they were un- 
loaded. Mr. Barton usually took them for the num- 
ber of bushels claimed. James directed the men in 
the ashery to measure the load in question as it 
was unloaded, and he kept tally. There were 
scarcely more than twenty-two bushels. 

" Only twenty -two bushels, sir," said James to the 
owner. 

" There were twenty-five bushels according to my 
measure," said the man. 
ii 



162 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

"And twenty-two, according to mine," replied 
James. " I will pay you for twenty-two bushels — 
no more." 

" I think you made a mistake," remarked the man. 

" If there was any mistake, I think you made it," 
retorted James. "Three heads are better than one, 
and three of us attended to the measuring. Shall I 
pay you for twenty -two bushels?" 

"Yes, pay away," the man answered, sulkily. 

Barton came in just then, when James told him 
what had happened ; and afterwards he told him 
further, that there was a great deal of cheating prac- 
ticed upon him, and it was quite time for his inter- 
ests to be looked after more closely. All this served 
to increase Barton's confidence in James. 

The men with whom James had to do about the 
establishment were about as his mother had sup- 
posed — a rough, wicked class. But James had 
nothing to do with them except in the business, and 
they made no impression upon him as to weakening 
his principles. Most of them were terribly profane, 
and one day James interrupted one of them, saying: 

"Jake, what makes you swear so? You are awful. 
What good does it do you?" 

" I s'pose it gits some of yer bad stuff out of me," 
was Jake's prompt reply. 

" If that is the case, all the bad stuff ought to have 
been out of you long ago ; you have sworn enough 
to empty yourself." 

" Nary bisness of yers, any way," the swearer an- 
swered. 



A BLACKS ALTER. 



163 



" I should think that the more bad stuff you let 
out, the more there was left, Jake," continued James. 
" I don't want you should empty any more of it 
about me." 

rf What is 't to yer, any way?" answered the godless 
fellow, displeased at the rebuke. 

" It is a very bad habit, Jake, as you know," an- 
swered James. w It does you no good, and it is very 
unpleasant to many persons who hear you." 

" Stop your ears, then," said Jake, angrily. 

w There is no use being mad over it, Jake. I don't 
like to hear your profanity ; and now suppose you 
just please me a little, and not spill any more of the 
stuff near me." 

Jake laughed, and turned to his work. He could 
not be very angry with James, for he thought too 
much of him. In this frank and honest wa} r James 
dealt with the men. There was no danger that he 
would be enticed away by that class of men. An- 
other danger, however, met him in the house, and 
for a time it was an unsettled question whether 
Providence or Satan opened that door. If his good 
mother had been cognizant of what was going on, 
she would have discovered ample reason for her ap- 
prehensions. 

A book-loving boy like James would not be long 
in a strange place without finding all the books there 
were ; so books were among" the first things that 
attracted his attention in Barton's house. There 
were " Marryat's Novels," "Sindbad the Sailor," 
"The Pirate's Own Book," "Jack Halyard," "Lives 



164 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



of Eminent Criminals," "The Buccaneers of the 
Caribbean Seas," plundering a Spanish galleon ; and 
perhaps some others of the same character. The 
adventure and marvelous exploits contained in these 
volumes were suited to fire his imagination and in- 
flame his heart. He was thus introduced into a new 
experience altogether, more perilous to him than a 
regiment of coarse, brutal men. He made books 
his most intimate companions, and trusted them with 
entire confidence. He could read deceitful and de- 
signing men around him, and bluff them off; but 
he took the volumes that he read directly to his 
heart, and communed with them, as friend com- 
munes with friend. 

Volume after volume of this pernicious reading 
was devoured, causing Mr. Barton to remark to 
others of the "great scholar" in his employ. Barton 
himself did not understand but that the volumes in 
his house were as safe for a boy to read as the Bible ; 
nor did he care much. His daughter had purchased 
these books from time to time, and read them, too, 
and why should he, ignorant man that he was, ap- 
preciate the tendency of such reading? His daugh- 
ter was a young woman grown, possessing consid- 
erable native ability, but little culture, though she 
was the belle of the town. She wrote poetry occa- 
sionally for a paper that had been started in Cleve- 
land, a circumstance that gave her some notoriety 
among the people. 

" I see you like reading," she said to James one 



A BLACK-SALTER. 



I6 5 



evening, when he was rapt over one of Marryat's 
novels. 

" There's nothing I like better. I never read 
books like these before," he answered. 

"They are very interesting books, I think," she 
added. 

"You've read them, have you?" 

" Yes ; I bought them, and I have read them all 
more than once." 

" I think I shall read them more than once. I'm 
glad I came here to live. These long evenings 
would be dull for me without books." 

" You'd have to go to Damon's with the men, 
evenings, if you had no books," the young woman 
suggested. Damon's was the store where the post- 
office was kept; and there the male portion of the 
population were wont to congregate in the evening, 
to talk politics, nonsense, and lewdness, according 
to circumstances. It was a motley crowd, whose 
appearance would have terrified Mrs. Garfield, 
could she have seen them ; and yet her James was 
in worse company, for him, every evening, poring 
over those fascinating and corrupting books. He 
did not know his danger, and so his danger was 
greater. To the young woman's suggestion, James 
replied, 

"I couldn't go there." 

"Why?" she asked. 

" I don't like that sort of company." 

" It's not very attractive, I think," she conceded. 



1 66 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

ft My mother would be frightened to see me in 
such company." 

If James had only known, he might have said, with 
equal truth, perhaps, that his mother would be 
frightened to see him in the company of such books. 
But he had no thoughts in that direction. He had 
become infatuated over these mute, yet loquacious, 
companions. 

When the family retired at night, James would 
take his light and book and go to his room, but not 
to bed. Twelve o'clock often found him reading, 
almost oblivious to the cold that pinched his flesh 
and made him shiver. But his young blood seemed 
to be warmed by the excitement and enthusiasm be- 
gotten by his reading. 

One night he retired, excited and wakeful. As 
he lay musing, he said, within himself: 

" I will see some of the world yet. I shan't 
always follow this business." 

Then he turned over to invite sleep, but was still 
wakeful. 

"A black-salter ! " he continued. "It is not the 
sort of work for me. Can't see much of the world, 
tied down here." 

He turned over again, restless and -nervous, but 
sleep was chary. 

" I should like to be a sailor, and see more of the 
world ; go to other countries, and see the great 
cities ; it's splendid," his mind said ; and he was 
not sleepy at all. 

" What's the use of staying at home always, and 



A BLACK-SALTER. 



167 



seeing nothing, when the great world is open. I 
mean to try it some time." 

And so he went on discussing the matter within 
himself, and reasoning away many of the staid and 
valuable ideas that had kept him a noble boy. 

"I wonder what mother will say to it? Women 
are always afraid, and want to keep their boys at 
home all the time. I 'spose she will make a terrible 
fuss about it; but I mean to see more of the world, 
somehow." 

Sleep finally came to his relief, and he dreamed 
of ships bearing him over the ocean to other lands, 
where fairy-like cities delighted his vision ; and other 
enrapturing scenes, that exist only in dreams, made 
him thrice happy. It was quite evident now that Satan 
was opening the door of the future wide, instead of 
that Providence whose watch and care his good 
mother had invoked. 

He continued a faithful laborer to Mr. Barton, at- 
tending to the details of the business with promptness, 
and securing his love and confidence. Barton 
watched him with pride, and once he said to him : 

" Yer kin read, yer kin write, and yer are death 
on riggers ; so stay with me, keep my 'counts, and 
tend 'to the saltery. I'll find yer, and glad to give 
yer the fourteen dollars a month." 

"I want to be a sailor," replied James. 

ft A sailor!" exclaimed Barton, in amazement. 
"Yer don't mean it. There's too much of yer for 
that bisness. What's put that idee into yer head?" 

" I want to see more of the world than I can see in 



1 68 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

Ohio," answered James. "It will be dull business 
to make black-salts all my days." 

"We'll, yer will never go to sea if yer take my 
advice. Stay here, and some day yer'll have a 
saltery of yer own." 

"I don't want one," replied James. "I'd rather have 
something else." 

" My word for it," continued Barton ; " yer are too 
% good a boy to spile on the seas. Stay with me, and 
some day yer'll have a saltery as big as o'urn." 

" I wouldn't spend my life in this business for a 
dozen salteries as big as this," replied James. 

Barton was exceedingly afraid that he should lose 
his excellent employe, and so he endeavored to 
make his position agreeable as possible. His praise, 
too, was not stinted at all. 

"Yer are a cute boy, good at readin', good at 
riggers, good at work, good at everything," he would 
say ; " stay with me, and I'll do we'el by yer." 

James continued through the winter, until April 
opened, when the following incident terminated his 
career as a salter. 

Barton's daughter had a beau, and he came to see 
her one night when James was working over some 
difficult problems in arithmetic. There was but one 
room below in the farm-house, and that was a very 
large one, so the young couple occupied a distant 
corner, James and the " old folks " sitting near the 
fireplace. James took in the situation well for a 
boy of his years, and designed to retire as soon as 
the girl's father and mother did ; but he became so 



A BLACK-SALTER. 169 

absorbed in his arithmetic that he did not notice they 
had left the room, until the impatient girl startled 
him by the remark, 

" I should think it was time for hired servants to 
be abed." 

James' anger was aroused. He looked at her 
fiercely for a moment, but said nothing. Then he 
took his candle and started for his room, his very 
tread on the floor showing that the invincible spirit 
within him was thoroughly stirred. The coast was 
now clear for the matrimonial aspirants, though at 
quite a loss to the establishment, as the sequel will 
show. 

James could not sleep. The sarcastic girl had 
knocked sleep out of him. 

" Hired servant ! " he repeated to himself, over 
and over. "And that's all I am in this concern, — 
'a hired servant.' I'll not be a * servant' long, let 
them know." And he tried to compose himself, 
and forget his trouble by going to sleep, but in 
vain. 

" Hired servant ! " It would not down at his bid- 
ding. He kept repeating it, in spite of himself; and 
the more he repeated it, the more his feelings were 
harrowed. 

" r Hired servant ! ' I can rise above that, I know, 
and I will. I'll not stay in this place another day, 
let what will happen. I'll leave to-morrow. The 
trollope shall see whether I'm a f hired servant' or 
not. Pll hire servants yet." 

Th? fact was, that unexpected appellation proved 



!>jO LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

to James just what the kick in the stomach, which 
the schoolmate gave to Newton, did. The kick 
made a scholar out of Newton ; the girl's remark 
aroused latent aspirations in James' heart to be some- 
body. Years afterwards, when James had become 
a man, and was battling with the stern realities of 
life, he said, " That girl's cutting remark proved a 
great blessing to me. I was too much annoyed 
by it to sleep that night ; I lay awake under the raft- 
ers of that old farm-house, and vowed, again and 
again, that I would be somebody ; that the time 
should come "when that girl would not call me a 
f hired servant.'' " 

The bad books, however, very nearly turned the 
aspirations awakened into the way to ruin instead of 
honor. 

James arose early in the morning, dressed him- 
self, and tied up his few possessions in a bundle, 
and presented himself to Mr. Barton for settlement. 

"I'm going to leave to-day," he said. 

If he had fired off a pistol at his employer the 
latter would not have been more astounded. 

"Goin' ter leave ! " he exclaimed. 

"Yes ; I'm done working at this business." 

" Hi, Jim, yer can't mean it." 

" I do mean it," answered James ; and he adhered 
to his purpose against the entreaties and good prom- 
ises of his employer, and that, too, without saying a 
w r ord to him about the "hired servant." The up- 
shot was, that Mr. Barton paid him off, and James 
was at home before noon. 





XI. 

A WOOD-CHOPPER. 

OME for good," said James to his mother, 
on entering the house. "Got enough of 
saltering." 

"I am glad to see you, James; but 
what's the matter now?" his mother replied. 

"Matter enough. I've come home to stay." 

"I'm glad of that." 

"I can be somebody if I try, instead of a 'hired 
servant,' continued James, speaking the last two 
words contemptuously. 

"What now? Have you had any trouble with 
Mr. Barton?" 

"None at all ; he is one of the kindest men in the 
world. I shouldn't want to work for a better man." 

"What, then, is to pay?" urged his mother, ear- 
nestly. 

James rehearsed to her the experience of the pre- 
vious evening, and his determination to quit the busi- 
ness, together with Mr. Barton's disappointment at 
his leaving, and his entreaties for him to stay. Mrs. 

171 



172 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

Garfield listened attentively to the recital, which 
closed by his saying, 

;? There are fifty-six dollars for you, mother." 

f You are indeed thoughtful of your mother, and 
the money will add many comforts to our home," re- 
plied Mrs. Garfield; "but did you not act rather 
hastily?" 

"Hastily or not, I've acted, and that is the end of 
it," replied James. " I didn't exactly want to give 
up the job, on account of the pay, but I have." 

"I should think much of Mr. Barton's kindness, 
and his disappointment," suggested his mother. 

"And minded nothing about the insulting girl, I 
'spose? " 

" I shouldn't care for her. I don't suppose she 
meant any evil by her remark. Besides, it is not 
dishonorable to be a hired servant, especially if you 
are a good one," added his mother. 

"That is not the thing, mother. I don't think it 
is dishonorable to be a ' hired servant.' It was the 
girls insulting way of saying it, and it stirred me up 
to want to be somebody in the world, and I mean 
to be." 

"I hope it will all turn out for the best, my son ; 
and I believe that Providence will overrule it for 
good." 

"I must look out for another job, now," remarked 
James. 

"And not stay at home?" 

" No ; I can earn more for you away." 



A WOOD-CHOPPER. jy^ 



"Well, as you think best," said his mother. "I 
dare say you will have a plenty of chances." 

' ( I would like to go to sea, mother," added James, 
hesitatingly. 

If he had struck his mother in her face she would 
not have been more shocked. 

"Why James ! " she exclaimed. 

" I've been thinking about it," James continued. 

"Thinking about it, James ! What has got into 
you? You shock me." 

"I don't wish to go against your will, mother," 
James added. 

'You will go against my will if you ever go to 
sea, James. Be a Salter, or anything else, rather 
than a sailor." 

"Why, mother?" 

" You certainly can never be f somebody,' as you 
say, by going to sea." 

"I can be a commander of a vessel, perhaps, and 
some day I may own one ; who knows." 

:t Who knows what you wouldn't be, James, if you 
should become a sailor. Say no more about such a 
step if you want to make your mother happy." 

The subject was dropped there, and James pro- 
ceeded to look about the farm. For several days he 
busied himself in putting things in order, awaiting 
work elsewhere. At length he heard that his uncle, 
living at Newburg, near Cleveland, wanted to hire 
wood-choppers. His uncle w r as clearing a large 
tract of forest near the line of Independence town- 
ship. After conferring with his mother, and seeking 



174 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

the advice of his uncle, Amos Boynton, he decided 
to go to Newburg. His mother was quite willing 
that he should go there, because his sister Meheta- 
bel had married, and was living there ; and James 
could board with her. Three days after James pre- 
sented himself at his uncle's door in Newburg, mak- 
ing known his errand. 

" Glad to see you, James," was his uncle's cordial 
welcome. " How you grow ! almost a man, now ! 
Yes, I've work enough to be done at chopping, if 
men will only do it." 

"I like to chop," interrupted James. 

" A great many don't," replied his uncle ; " and 
chopping wood is pretty hard work, about as hard 
as any work there is." 

"I don't think so," remarked James. "I do not 
get so tired chopping as I have been sometimes 
planing boards." 

"Well, let's see," continued his uncle ; " how much 
'of a job at chopping can you undertake? It's com- 
ing warm weather, and you don't want to chop wood 
when it is too hot, do you?" 

"Perhaps not; I can chop two months, sure." 

" Suppose you take a job of one hundred cords to 
cut, James ; how will that do? " 

" I will agree to that. How much will you pay 
me a cord ? " 

fe I will pay you fifty cents a cord for one hundred 
cords ; and the fifty dollars shall be ready for you 
as soon as the work is done. How long will you be 
cutting it? " 



A WOOD-CHOPPER. 



175 



" Fifty days," James quickly answered. 

"A little longer than that, I reckon, unless you 
are a mighty smart chopper," suggested his uncle. 
"There's a great difference in men, and boys too, 
in chopping wood." 

" I shall cut two cords a day, right along," said 
James. "I can do it easily." 

"That's pretty good chopping — better than the 
average, by considerable," replied his uncle; "and 
you are larger and stronger than the average of 
choppers, I guess." 

The bargain was clinched, and James passed on 
to his sister's, who gave him a warm greeting, and 
agreed to board him. So James was once more 
settled, and ready to proceed to business. The next 
morning he appeared in the role of a wood-chopper ; 
not a new occupation to him. 

It was unfortunate for James that his work was in 
full view of Lake Erie, on whose blue bosom he 
could see a plenty of craft sailing, at any time. 
The location seemed to conspire with the bad books 
at Barton's to fan his desire for a sea-faring life into 
a flame. In the circumstances, it was not strange 
that James did not forget the books he had read. 
He often stopped in his work to watch a vessel 
gliding over the waves like a swan, and sometimes 
he would seat himself upon a log to count the sails 
appearing in the distance. It was a rare spectacle 
to him, and his young heart bounded with delight. 
He cherished the secret thought that, some day, he 
would be sailing over that very lake. 



176 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

There were several choppers near him, one of 
them a German. He was a clever man, and spoke 
very broken English. James thought he was a slow 
chopper, and noticed that his axe did not fly briskly. 
At the end of a week, however, he found that the 
German had cut and corded two cords a day, — just 
the amount he himself had cut. 

" I don't understand it," he said to his sister, on 
going home. "I strike two blows to the German's 
one, and yet he has cut as many cords as I have." 

" Perhaps he strikes heavier blows," suggested his 
sister. 

"I doubt it," replied James; "but I will find out 
the reason." 

James was on the alert to find out the reason of 
the German's success. Nor was he left long in the 
dark. Lake Erie had no attractions for the Teu- 
tonic chopper, and so he kept steadily at his work, 
from morning until night, while James frequently 
stopped to watch the sails in the distance. The 
German did not strike blows so rapidly as James, 
nor were his blows more telling, but he was steadily 
at work from morning until night. James compre- 
hended the whole, and it w r as a good lesson to him. 
He took his first lesson of application and perse- 
verance of the German wood-chopper, and reduced 
it to practice at once. It rather cooled his fiery 
ardor for the sea. He confessed to his sister that he 
wasted some time in watching sails on the lake. At 
the same time, he owned that he had a longing for 
the sea. 



A WOOD-CHOPPER. 



177 



"You surprise me, James," his sister said. "I 
never thought that of you. You can't be in earnest, 
can you ? " 

"I never was more earnest in my life," answered 
James, coolly. "The height of my ambition is to 
command a ship." 

" Captain Garfield ! That is the title you want to 
earn, is it?" remarked his sister. "I hope you'll 
never get it." 

"You know that was the title of one of our great 
ancestors, Captain Benjamin Garfield," suggested 
James. 

" But he didn't get his title on a ship, by any 
means ; he got it in the Revolutionary war," retorted 
his sister. "Anything but a sailor." 

" I might be something worse than that," added 
James. 

"Not unless you become a mean man" quickly 
answered his sister. 

" You had rather I would get the title by shooting 
men in war, than bringing goods from foreign ports, 
had you?" said James, in a sarcastic manner. 

" I rather you would be a wood-chopper all your 
days than to be a sailor," was his sister's prompt 
reply. "I think mother would say the same. You 
have too much talent to throw away on the deck of 
a ship." 

James received no encouragement from any quar- 
ter to become a sailor ; and his aspirations in that 
direction became somewhat modified. He thought 
less of a sea-faring life for a time, and devoted him- 
12 



178 LOG-CAB TN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

self to wood-chopping with commendable industry. 
Two cords a day were cut and piled with ease. He 
could have cut two cords and a half each day with- 
out lengthening his days inordinately. But he had 
fixed the limit when he began, and James was not 
the boy to change his purpose. 

His sister owned a few books, and his uncle 
more ; and, between them both, James was quite 
well provided with reading. A newspaper, that his 
uncle took, occupied his attention till each number 
was read through. Nor were the books objection- 
able, like those at Barton's. They were healthy and 
profitable volumes for such a reader as James, who 
preferred a book to the society of the young men of 
the town, who might gather at any rendezvous. His 
reading, too, appeared to offset his growing desire 
for the sea. Engrossing his attention in the subject- 
matter of the books, excluded, in a measure, at 
least for the time, his hankering for a ship. His 
evenings were wholly given up to reading, some 
of them extending considerably beyond bed-time. 
The temptation to lengthen his evenings for reading 
he could not resist so readily as he could the tempta- 
tion to lengthen the days for chopping. 

James chopped the hundred cords of wood in fifty 
days, and received his pay, according to the con- 
tract. On paying him, his uncle said : 

" I hope you will not always be a wood-chopper, 
James, although it is a necessary and honorable 
business. But you are competent to do something 



A WOOD-CHOPPER. jy g 



of more consequence. The way may open for you 
to get an education yet : how would you like that?" 

"I should like it," answered James, although he 
would have said, " I want to go to sea," if he had 
really dared to risk it. But he had good reason to 
suppose that his uncle would resolutely rebuke any 
such expression. So he desisted. Nor did he tell 
a falsehood by saying that he would like to acquire 
an education, for his taste was strong in that direc- 
tion ; but he could discover no way into that field of 
clover. 

Bidding his uncle and sister good-by, James re- 
turned home, and presented his mother with the bal- 
ance of the fifty dollars, after paying for his board. 
His mother was rejoiced to see her boy, wondering 
all the while if his desire for a sea-faring life sur- 
vived. She thought it not best, however, to open a 
subject that was so unpleasant to her, for fear it 
might prove agreeable to him. Nothing was said 
about the sea. 

i 

It was the last week in June, and James would 
like a job for the summer. His uncle Amos told 
him of a farmer, five or six miles away, who wanted 
to hire a man through haying and harvesting, about 
four months. James went immediately to see him, 
bargained to work for him from July to November, 
four months, and accordingly took up his abode with 
the man on the first day of July. 

A stout, muscular fellow like James was supposed 
to be an efficient hand in the hay-field. His em- 
ployer liked his appearance, and expected much of 



180 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



him. Nor was he disappointed. His strength en- 
abled him to swing a scythe and pitch hay with 
power, though he was a boy in age. Then he pos- 
sessed a boy's pride in his strength, and delighted 
to astonish his employer by an exhibition of it. Boy 
like he found great pleasure in keeping squarely 
up with his employer in the mowing field, sometimes 
cutting his corners. His power of endurance was 
remarkable ; and he never appeared to tire, or "play 
out," as the boys say. 

James found no books here, or none worth men- 
tioning. The people cared little about reading, 
though they were people of character. But farming 
was their business, and they worked early and late. 
When the day's work was done, they went to bed, 
and, at four o'clock in the morning, they were up 
and ready for another day's work. Thus it was 
through the whole busy season of the year. James 
kept abreast of them. "If I can't do what other 
folks can, "I'll quit," he said to himself more than 
once. 

Nothing unusual occurred during the four months, 
excepting only two incidents, which we will narrate. 

James was digging potatoes in October, and put- 
ting them into the cellar. On going to the house 
with a load one day, he found a neighbor discussing 
the subject of baptism with his employer's daughter. 

"Sprinkling is baptism," James heard him say. 
" Immersion is no more. A drop of water is as good 
as a fountain." 

"Sprinkling is not baptism, according to Alexan- 



A WOOD-CHOPPER. T ,c> r 



der Campbell," replied the young woman ; w and I 
don't see how it can be." 

" I said, according to the Bible. I don't care a fio- 
for Alexander Campbell," the neighbor rejoined. 

* That makes your position harder to support," 
interrupted James, with the design of affording relief 
to the farmer's daughter, whom he very much re- 
spected. 

rf What do you know about it?" exclaimed the 
neighbor, somewhat annoyed at the boy's interrup- 
tion. :t You know more about potatoes than the 
Scripters, according to my idee." 

T You can't prove that sprinkling is baptism, from 
the Bible," added James. 

'That's all you know about it," retorted the man. 

" See here," continued James, thinking he would 
surprise the disputant by his familiarity with the 
Scriptures; "how do you get along with this?" 
And he proceeded to quote from Hebrews : " Let 
us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of 
faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil con- 



science." 



"There, you see it says 'sprinkled,'" interrupted 
the neighbor, quite elated. 

"But, hold on !" replied James; "wait, and hear 
the rest of it. You are in too big a hurry." And 
James repeated the remainder of the text : " and our 
bodies washed with pure water." He laid stress on 
the word " washed," adding : 

"Now tell me, if you can, how you can wash your 
body in a drop of water." 



182 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

Without waiting for a reply, he hurried away to 
the potato-patch. 

The other incident relates to his desire to go to 
sea. He concluded to sound his employer one day, 
and he said : 

" What do you think about my goin' to sea?" 

" Goin' to see what?" answered the farmer. 

"To ship, and be a sailor," answered James. 

" Likely story that you would undertake that 
business." 

" I'm thinking of it." 

"I guess you'll take it out in thinking." 

" Honest, though, I'm not joking. I want to com- 
mand a ship." 

"Well, if you was my boy," retorted the farmer, 
" I should command you to shut ujy. It's the last 
place for you to go. Better dig potatoes all your 
days." 

" I will shut up," repeated James, quite amused at 
the farmer's decided way of opposing a sea-faring 
life. He did not mention the subject again. 

James completed his four months' labor with the 
farmer, for which he received twelve dollars a 
month, — forty-eight dollars in all, — with the farm- 
er's laconic endorsement, 

"You've done well." 




XII. 



A CANAL BOY. 




AMES was restive and dissatisfied when 
he returned home. His mother saw that 
he was uneasy, and she feared that he 
was thinking about the sea. Nor was 
she mistaken in her apprehensions, although she re- 
mained silent on the subject. Thus matters con- 
tinued through the winter ; James attending school, 
and looking after the place. In the spring he 
worked at odd jobs in the town, until the farm de- 
manded his attention. It was evident, however, 
that his heart was not in his work. His thoughts 
were on the sea. At last he seemed to reach a point 
where he could restrain his desires no longer. It was 
about the first of July. He said to his mother : 

"Mother, you don't know how I long for the sea. 
Why cannot I look after a place on a ship?" 

"Where do you want to ship to, James?" his 
mother replied. 

This answer was unexpected. James anticipated 
a direct refusal, but the answer indicated a change 

183 



184 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

of feeling in his mother, he thought ; and it encour- 
aged him to proceed. There was really no change 
in his mother's feelings, but she was a sagacious 
woman, and there was a change in her tactics. 

" I'm not particular where ; I want to see some- 
thing of the world," was James' answer. 

" It's rather queer for a boy of your ability not to 
know where he wants to go," said his mother. " If 
I wanted to go somewhere I would find out where 
in the first place. You don't care whether you go 
to Europe, Asia, or Africa ! " 

" Not exactly that," replied James ; " I would like 
to cross the Atlantic." 

"And be sick enough of it before you got half 
across," remarked Mrs. Garfield. " Boys don't 
know what they want." 

"/know what /want," retorted James ; " and that 
is what I am trying to tell you. I want to try life 
on the ocean. If I don't like it, I'll give it up." 

f That's not so easy. You get out to the Mediter- 
ranean, or to China, and it will not be very easy to 
give it up and come home. You will wish that you 
had taken your mother's advice." His mother said 
this with much feeling;. 

" I shall never know till I tr}s" James continued. 
" But I will never go to sea, or anywhere else, un- 
less you consent." 

" Suppose you try a trip in a schooner on Lake 
Erie first, and see how you like it," suggested his 
mother. " Perhaps you won't like it. You will not 
be far from home then." 



A CANAL BOY. 



I8 5 



"Are you willing that I should do that?" inquired 
James, brightening up at the prospect. 

"I much rather you would do that than to cross 
the Atlantic, and I would give my consent to that," 
his mother answered, with reluctance. 

" It is settled, then," replied James. w I shall start 
for Lake Erie as soon as I can get ready." 

Mrs. Garfield's tactics prevailed. She had given 
much thought to the subject, and had reluctantly 
concluded that, if worse came to worse, she would 
compromise with the boy, and allow him to ship on 
Lake Erie. She feared that his desire to become a 
sailor would prove incontrollable, and that he would 
eventually go to sea, any way. Perhaps, by allow- 
ing him to try life on shipboard, in a smaller way, and 
so near home as the familiar lake, would result in his 
abandoning the idea of a " life on the ocean-wave " 
altogether. 

James prepared for his departure as soon as pos- 
sible ; and taking what money was necessary, with 
his inevitable bundle, he returned his mother's kiss, 
but not her tears, and started for Cleveland, where 
he expected to ship. He walked the whole distance, 
seventeen miles, and was in sight of the tempting 
sails at twelve o'clock, noon. 

He proceeded directly to the wharf, and boarded 
the first schooner he found. 

"Chance for another hand on board?" he inquired 
of one of the crew. 

The sailor addressed answered, " The captain will 
soon come up from the hold." 



l86 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

So James waited, expecting soon to stand in the 
presence of a stout, gentlemanly, noble-looking man, 
just such a captain as he had read of in books. He 
did not wait long before the sailor, whom he had ad- 
dressed, remarked : 

" The captain is coming." 

James heard a tremendous noise below, as if there 
was trouble of some kind ; and then he heard a hu- 
man voice belching out most horrible oaths at some- 
body, or something, as if the captain of the infernal 
regions was approaching. He scarcely knew what 
to make of it. But, while he stood wondering, the 
captain appeared, — a drunken, beastly, angry fellow, 
— a whisky-barrel on legs, his mouth its bung-hole, 
pouring out the vilest stuff possible. James had 
seen some hard customers before, but if the pit could 
send up a more horrible sample of humanity from its 
" hold," he did not wish to meet him. James looked 
at the creature a moment, and the disgusting crea- 
ture looked at him, when he ventured to approach 
him, saying, in a gentlemanly way : 

"Captain?" 

" Yes ; what in h — do you want?" 

M Do you want to hire another hand for your 
schooner? " 

" What if I do, you green land-lubber? " exclaimed 
the captain, with another torrent of oaths. " Get off 
this schooner in double-quick, or I'll throw you into 
the dock, you impudent son of a ." 

James attempted to excuse himself in a polite way, 
but the infuriated wretch only cursed and raved the 



A CANAL BOY. 



187 



more, swinging his fists in the most threatening 
manner. 

" Get out, I say, or I'll be the death of you. 'Spose 
I'd hire such a lubber and greenhorn to run my 
schooner ! " And the blackest oaths continued to 
roll out of his mouth. 

The last sound of that terrible voice that lingered 
on James' ear, as he hurried from the craft, was that 
of profanity. Such a repulse he never dreamed of. 
He scarcely thought such a scene possible any- 
where. He had read of sailors and captains, but he 
had never read of such a captain as that. He be- 
gan to think that books are not always reliable. It 
was the first time he had ever stopped to think that 
men are not always what they are represented to be 
in books. The experience was a damper to his sea- 
faring propensity. In this respect, it was a good 
thing for the boy. As it turned out, the drunken 
captain prevented him from becoming a sailor. It 
was a rather rough way of being turned aside from 
a purpose, but the roughest usage sometimes leads 
to the best results. 

James sat down on a pile of wood to muse on the 
ways of the world, and to eat a lunch which he put 
into his pocket on leaving home. He could not un- 
derstand the philosophy of such a course as the cap- 
tain pursued. He did nothing to provoke him. 
ff He," he thought, "was provoked before I saw 
him, for I heard his fearful oaths." He concluded, 
finally, that he did appear rather green and rough 
to the captain, for his clothes were countrified and 



188 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

worn ; and perhaps he did not know exactly how to 
present himself to a sea captain, salter, wood-chop- 
per, and farmer as he was. The more he pondered 
the more he found an excuse for the captain, and 
the less disposed he was to relinquish his purpose to 
be a sailor. 

He ceased to muse, and walked along the wharf, 
perhaps not exactly satisfied what to do next. He 
was soon startled, however, by a voice, 

"Jim! Jim!" 

James turned about ; the voice came from a canal 
boat. 

" Halloo, Jim ! How came you here? " 

It was Amos Letcher, his cousin, who called to 
him from the canal boat. 

"You here, Amos?" exclaimed James; and he 
was on board the boat in a hurry, shaking hands 
with his old friend and relative. 

"How came you here? " inquired Amos. rf The 
last I knew of you you was chopping wood. " 

" I came over to see if I could find a chance to 
ship on the Lake," replied James. 

"What luck?" 

"Not much, yet." 

" Seen anybody? " 

Finally James rehearsed his experience on the 
schooner, to which Amos listened with a kind of 
comical interest. 

" Hot reception," remarked Amos, after listening 
to the recital. "Some of the captains are hard cus- 
tomers, I tell you." 



A CANAL BOY. ^9 



" Hard ! " repeated James ; " that is no name for 
that fellow. I 'spose he is human ; he looks like a 
man, but he is more of a demon." 

" You wouldn't like to ship with such a brute, would 
you?" Amos inquired. 

" No ; I'd rather chop wood." 

" How would you like a canal boat?" 

"I don't know ; would it help me to get a place on 
a ship ? " 

"It might, some." 

"Another hand wanted on this boat?" James 
asked. 

"Yes, we want another driver." 

" Where's the captain ? " 

"/ am captain." 

"You captain, Amos?" replied James, with much 
surprise. 

"Yes, I am captain; and I should be right glad 
to hire you." 

"Driver! that is, I drive the horses?" added 
James, inquiringly. 

" That is just it ; not so hard as chopping wood." 

" Where do you go to ? " 

"To Pittsburg."" 

" What do you carry? " 

"Copper ore." 

"I think I will engage, Captain Letcher, con- 
tinued James, repeating the title of his cousin, to see 
how it sounded. " How much will you pay me? " 

" Twelve dollars a month ; that is what we pay 
drivers." 



190 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" I'll take the position, Captain Letcher, and do 
the best I can." 

"And I shan't ask you to do any better than that," 
said Amos, as facetiously as James had repeated his 
title. 

" We start to-morrow morning," added the captain. 
" You will not lose much time." 

" So much the better," answered James, thinking 
himself quite fortunate on the whole. 

The canal at that time was a great thoroughfare 
between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. Copper 
mining was carried on extensively on Lake Superior, 
and the ore was brought down to Cleveland in 
schooners, and from thence was taken to Pittsburgh 
by canal. The name of the canal boat commanded 
by Captain Letcher was "Evening Star," and its ca- 
pacity w r as seventy tons. It was manned with two 
steersmen, two drivers, a bowman, and a cook, be- 
sides the captain, — seven men in all. The bowman's 
business was to make the locks ready, and to stop 
the boat as it entered the lock, by throwing the 
bowline, that was attached to the bow of the boat, 
around the snubbing post. The drivers were fur- 
nished with two mules each, which were driven one 
before the other ; one driver with his mules serving 
a given number of hours, then giving place to the 
other, and going on board with his mules. 

Boatmen, as a class, were rough fellows then. 
"Profane, coarse, vulgar, whisky-drinkers," de- 
scribes them exactly. Rum and tobacco were 
among their necessaries of life, about as much so as 



A CANAL BOY. jqj 



bread or meat. They cared nothing for morals and 
religion, and often made them the butt of ridicule. 
The best fe'ilow was the one who could drink the 
most whisky, and sing the worst songs. Of course 
such fellows were no company for James. The 
contrast between him and one of this class was very 
marked. It was a new and hard school for him. 

At suniise, on the following morning, James took 
his turn at mule-driving, the captain starting him 
off well by some instructions. The boat was to 
pass through the first lock before James hitched on. 
This done, and James stepped directly into the rank 
of mule-driver. It was going to sea on a small 
scale, and so there was some fascination about it. 
And yet he was on the tow-path instead of the 
water, except when he tumbled in. Within an hour 
James heard the captain, 

" Hi, Jim ! Boat comin'. Steady." 

James knew it as well as the captain, and de- 
signed to pass the boat with signal success. But 
somehow, be could scarcely tell how, the two driv- 
ers got their lines tangled, interrupting the progress 
of the mules. The lines were soon separated, but 
the impetus of Captain Letcher's boat, in the delay, 
pushed it up square with the horses, when the 
steersman called out, 

"Hurrah, Jim, whip up that team, or your line 
will ketch on the bridge." There was a waste-way 
just ahead. 

f ' Ay ! " James answered, as he whipped the mules 
into a trot. 



192 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" Steady, steady ! " called the captain, fearing that 
James was rushing into trouble by too much speed. 
The caution was too late, however. Just as the 
team reached the middle of the bridge the lines- 
tightened, and jerked driver and mules into the 
canal. 

" Quick ! help ! " shouted the captain, and every 
man ran to their rescue. 

" Hold on, Jim ! " cried the bowman, meaning that 
James should understand deliverance was at hand. 
James was holding on as well as he could, with two 
stupid mules to manage in the water. For some 
minutes it was difficult to tell how the affair would 
terminate, for there was serious danger that mules 
and driver would go to the bottom together. But it 
had always been James' good fortune to come to 
the top. So he did here ; and he was soon astride 
the leading mule, urging him out of the difficulty. 
A few minutes only elapsed before all were rescued, 
with no injury except a good ducking. 

During the process of rescuing the unfortunate 
victims of the accident, there was no jesting or light 
remarks, but one serious, earnest effort to save the 
mules, and to rescue James. But no sooner were 
the sufferers safe on the tow-path than a general 
laughter and merry time over the mishap ensued. 

"Yer a good Baptist now, Jum," exclaimed one 
of the steersmen, terminating his explosive laughter. 

" Yer see how we 'nitiate greenhorns into canal 
bisniss," said another of the men. 



A CANAL BOY. jg^ 



" I kind o' thought yer was a gonner at first," added 
a third. 

Finally, the captain said, jocosely, 'Jim, what 
was you doin' down there in the canal?" 

" Takin' my mornin' bath," answered James. 
"Refreshin'." 

"Washin' the mules, I reckon'd," chimed in one 
of the men. 

"All ready, now ! " shouted the captain ; "Jim has 
washed himself, and is now ready to proceed to bis- 
ness. All aboard ! " And they were off in a jiffy. 

The bantering did not cease with that da} r . Many 
a hearty laugh was enjoyed over it for several days, 
and James was the subject of many joCose remarks ; 
all of which served to keep the crew in good humor. 

James enjoyed it as well as the rest of them. 

At "Eleven Mile Lock," the captain ordered a 
change of teams. James went on board with his 
mules, and the other driver took the tow-path with 
his fresh mules. 

" Goin' to take the mules into yer bunk with yer, 
as yer did in a-swimmin'?" remarked one of the 
hands. 

"Put up your team, Jim, and then come on deck," 
said the captain, addressing James ; "I want to see 
you." 

James took good care of his mules, and w r ent on 
deck. 

"Jim, I hear there is some come-out to you, and 
if you have no objections I would like to make up 
my own mind in regard to it. It is a long ways to 
13 



194 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

Pancake Lock, and this will be a good time ; so I 
should like to ask you a few questions." 

"Proceed," answered James; "but be sure and 
not ask too hard ones." 

"You see, I've kept school some in the backwoods 
of Steuben County, Indiana," added the captain. 

"Schoolmaster and Captain," repeated James. 
" Honor enough for one family. What did you 
teach?" 

" Redin', writin', spellin', gography, 'rithmetic, 
and grammer." 

"Go ahead, then," continued James, "and exam- 
ine me in these branches. I'll answer the best I 
know." 

The captain proceeded with his questions, first in 
arithmetic, then in geography and grammar, and 
James answered every question promptly. 

"You are a trump, Jim; I've heard a good deal 
about your talents, and I wanted to see whether it 
was so, or not. You'll not shame your relations ; 
I'll own ye for cousin," remarked the captain, dis- 
continuing his questions. 

"Now, s'pose I put a few questions to you," said 
James ; " it's a poor rule that won't work both 
ways." 

" As many as you choose," answered the captain. 

The captain could not answer the first question 
that James put, nor the second, nor third; nor, in- 
deed, any of them. James had studied all the 
branches named far more thoroughly than the cap- 



A CANAL BOY. T g^ 



tain, so that "hard questions " were at his command. 
He intended to confound the captain, and he did. 

"If you'll let me alone, I'll let you alone," re- 
marked the captain, after several ineffectual attempts 
to answer James' question. 

The captain did not know so much as he thought 
he did. Because he had taught school in Indiana, 
and studied arithmetic, grammar, and geography, 
he thought he was superior even to James, of whom 
he had heard large stories. A few years ago he 
spoke of the matter to a friend, and said, "I was 
just green enough in those days to think that I 
knew it all. You see, I had been teacher for three 
years in the backwoods of Steuben County, Indi- 
ana." That over-estimate of himself put him into an 
awkward position before James. At the close of 
the interview, the captain said, seriously, 

"Jim, you've too good a head on you to be a wood- 
chopper, or a canal-driver." 

" Do you really think so? " asked James. 

"Yes, I do, honest." 

" What would you have me do ? " 

"Teach school. Go to school one or two terms, 
and then you will be qualified to teach a common 
school ; and after that you can make anything you 
have a mind to out of vourself." 

" That is more easily said than done," answered 
James. "What do you think of my goin' to sea." 

"I don't think much of it, to tell you the truth, 
Jim. It's a terrible hard, rough life, and it's a pity 



1 96 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



to throw away your talents on the deck of a ship. 
Never do any such thing, Jim. That's my advice.*' 

"But I don't intend to serve all my days, if I be- 
come a sailor, ".said James ; " I intend to command" 

" Command or serve, it will be all the same to 
you, Jim. You will be greater than the business, 
any way, and that's unfortunate for any one. It 
won't help the matter any to be called Captain Gar- 
field." 

"You don't know what a longing I have for life on 
the ocean," added James. "For ever so long I 
have been thinking of the matter ; but mother never 
gave her consent till lately, and then, only to ship 
on Lake Erie." 

" There's where your mother is right. She knows 
your abilities, and wants you should follow what 
your abilities fit you to become. I shouldn't think 
she would ever consent to such a wild project as 
your goin' to sea. To be a sailor, when you might 
be a teacher or governor, is the most foolish thing in 
the world." 

"Now, captain," replied James, as if doubting his 
sincerity, "do you really think that my talents 
promise any such result as that?" 

" Certainly I do ; I shouldn't say it if I didn't 
think so. I would go to school in the autumn, and 
teach school next winter, if I were in your place. 
You'll earn money enough this summer, nearly, to 
pay your way." 

The conversation ceased ; but James' thoughts ran 
on. He began to wonder whether he was such a 



A CANAL BOY. 



197 



fool as would appear from the captain's remarks. It 
was quite evident that Captain Letcher had set him 
to thinking in the right direction. If he did possess 
talents for some high position, he was a fool, surely 
to throw them away for nothing. He began to see 
it in that li£ht. What his cousin had said tallied 
very well with what several other people had told 
him, and he began to think that all of them could 
not be wrong. "In the mouth of two or three wit- 
nesses, every word shall be established." 




XIII. 



TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH. 




HE boat was nearing the twenty-one locks 
of Akron. 

"Make the first lock ready," cried the 
captain to his bowman. It was ten o'clock 
at night. 

" Ay ! " answered the bowman, promptly. 
As the bowman approached the lock, a voice came 
through the darkness from the bowman of another 
boat, 

" Don't turn this lock ; our boat is just around the 
bend, ready to enter." • 

K I will turn it ; we got here first," answered the 
bowman of the " Evening Star," with an oath that 
seemed blacker in the absence of the sun. 

" You won't turn it unless you are stronger than we 
are," shouted bowman number one, adding sufficient 
profanity to match the vocabulary of the other. 

A fight was imminent, as all hands on board saw, 
and they rallied for the fracas. Such scenes were 
common on the canal. The boat whose bowman 

198 



TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH. 



199 



reached the lock first was entitled to enter first, but 
when two bowmen reached the lock about the same 
time a dispute was about sure to arise, the result of 
which was a hand-to-hand fight between the two 
crews. The boat's crew that came to the top of the 
pile won the lock. Captains were usually powerless 
to prevent these contests, however well disposed they 
might be. 

Captain Letcher's bowman commenced turning the 
gate just as the two boats came up so near that their 
head-lights shed the brightness of day on the excit- 
ing scene. 

"Say, bowman," called Captain Letcher, motion- 
ing with his hand for attention. His bowman looked 
up in response. 

" Was you here first? " Evidently the captain ques- 
tioned his right to the lock. 

"It's hard to tell, replied the bowman ; "but we're 
goin' to have the lock, anyhow ; " and the ring of 
his voice showed determination and fight. 

" All right ; just as you say," answered the cap- 
tain, supposing that no interference of his could pre- 
vent an encounter. 

The men stood panting for the fray, like war- 
horses. They seemed to be in just the right mood 
for a contest. It was a new scene to James, and he 
stood wondering, with the loud oaths bandied falling 
on his ear. After having restrained himself as long 
as he could, he tapped the captain on his shoulder, 
saying, 

"See here, captain, does that lock belong to us?" 



200 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

"I really suppose, according to law, it does 
not; but we'll have it, anyhow," was the captain's 
reply. 

"No, we will not," answered James, with a good 
deal of determination. 

"Why not?" asked the captain, very much sur- 
prised at the boy's interference. 

" Because it does not belong to us." 

"That's so," the captain replied, seeing at once 
that James was right. 

Probably the captain had never stopped to think 
whether the custom of fighting for a lock was right 
or not. But the suggestion of James seemed to act 
as an inspiration on him, and he called out to his 
bowman, 

"Hold on! hold on, boys!" 

The men looked up in surprise, as if wondering 
what had happened. One minute more, and some 
hard knocks would have been given. 

" Hold on ! " repeated the captain, in the loudest 
tone of authority that he could command. " Let 

THEM HAVE THE LOCK." 

The order was obeyed ; the free fight was pre- 
vented ; the other boat entered the lock ; " peace 
reigned in Warsaw." James commanded the situa- 
tion. His principles prevailed. 

The boat was all night getting through the twenty- 
one locks, but at sunrise was on Lake Summit, 
moving forward under as bright a day-dawning as 
ever silvered the waters. The mules were moving 
on a slow trot, under the crack of the driver's whip, 



TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH. 2 0I 

and everything was hopeful. Breakfast was called. 
George Lee, the steersman, came out and sat down 
to the table, and the first word he spoke was, 

"Jim, what's the matter with ye?" 

" Nothing; I never felt better in my life," replied 
James. 

" What did you give up the lock for last night? " 

" Because it didn't belong to us." 

"Jim," continued Lee, in a tone of bitterness, ac- 
companied with his usual profanity, "yer are a cow- 
ard ; yer aint fit to be a boatman. Yer may do to 
chop wood or milk cows, but a man or a boy isn't fit 
for a boat who won't fight for his rights." 

James only smiled at his fellow-boatman, and went 
on with his breakfast, making no reply. The cap- 
tain heard the remarks, and admired the more the 
courage, coolness, and principle of his boy-driver. 
He saw that there was a magnanimous soul under 
that dirty shirt, and he enjoyed the evidence of its 
reign. 

Yhe boat reached Beaver, and a steamer was about 
to tow her up to Pittsburg, when the following inci- 
dent occurred, just as the captain describes it : 

"James was standing on deck, with the setting- 
pole against his shoulders, and several feet away 
stood Murphy, one of the boat hands, a big, burly 
fellow of thirty-five, when the steamboat threw the 
line, and, owing to a sudden lurch of the boat, it 
whirled over the boy's shoulders, and flew in the 
direction of the boatman." 

" Look out, Murphy ! " shouted James ; but the 



202 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

rope had anticipated him, and knocked Murphy's hat 
off into the river. 

"It was an accident, Murphy," exclaimed James, 
by way of excuse, "I'm very sorry." 

"I'll make yer sorry," bellowed Murphy, thor- 
oughly mad, and like a reckless bull he plunged at 
James, with his head down, thinking to knock him 
over, perhaps, into the water, where his hat had 
gone ; but James stepped nimbly aside, and dealt 
him a heavy blow behind the ear, tumbling him to 
the bottom of the boat, among the copper ore. Think- 
ing to bring hostilities to a sudden close, he leaped 
upon Murphy, and held him down. 

"Pound the fool, Jim," cried the captain. But 
James had him fast in his grip, so that the fellow 
could not harm him, and he refused to strike. He 
only said, 

" I have him, now." 

" If he hain't no more sense 'n to get mad at acci- 
dents, giv it ter him. Why don't yer strike? " 

"Because he's down, and in my power," answered 
the noble boy. He never would have it said that he 
struck a man save in self-defence ; and it is not self- 
defence to strike a man when he can be restrained 
without striking. 

"Got enough, Murphy? You can get up when 
you have," said James to his conquered antagonist. 

" Yis, 'nuff," answered Murphy. James rose, and 
allowed his assailant to rise also; then, extending 
his hand, in the magnanimous spirit of a victor, he 
said, 



TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH. 203 

" Murphy, give us your hand." 

And they shook hands, and were fast friends 
thereafter. From that time Tames moved amono- 
the crew not as a greenhorn and coward, but as a 
boy-man, — a boy in age, but a man in action; a 
boy in physical appearace, but a man in convictions 
and generous spirit. 

Among the boatmen was one Harry Brown, a 
good-hearted, rough, dissipated fellow, who had a 
strong liking for James, and would do almost any- 
thing for him. Harry was impetuous, and whisky 
often increased his impetuosity, so that he was fre- 
quently in trouble. 

"Look here, Harry, it's a little rough for you to 
be in rows so often; let whisky alone, and you'll 
not be in trouble half so much," said James to him, 
in a kind way. If any one else on board had said 
that, Harry would have resented it, and told him to 
"mind his own business." But he pleasantly said 
to James, 

1 That's so, Jim ; I'd giv a pile to be like yer." 

'You can be, if you are a mind to," replied 
James. "Whisky is the last stuff' I should think 
of drinking, Harry ; sooner drink the dirty water 
in this canal." 

" Yer are a trump, Jim." 

"I'm just what I am," replied James, and you 
don't begin to be what you might be, Harry. Your 
generous soul could make sunshine all about you, 
only break your bottle." 

This compliment tickled Harry in the right place, 



204 LOG-CABIN TO -WHITE HOUSE. 

and he concluded that James was rehearsing more 
truth than poetry. James saw that he held the key 
to the rough boatman's heart, and he proceeded : 

" I don't see why boatmen can't be as decent as 
other people, but they are not. They are about the 
hardest set I ever saw — drinking, swearing, brag- 
ging, fighting. Isn't it so, Harry?" 

"Yer about right, Jim," Harry answered, with a 
comical shrug of his shoulders. 

" If I was captain of a boat, I would have a new 
order of things, or fling up my commission," James 
continued. 

" I'll bet yer, Jim ; we'd all behave well to please 
yer," interrupted Harry, acquiescing in the suppo- 
sition. 

"Well, now, Harry, don't you think yourself that it 
would be a great improvement, on canal boats, to 
give whisky a wide berth? " 

"True as preachin', Jim." 

"And }^et you continue to make yourself a dis- 
grace to your sex, and are in hot water half your 
time. Isn't it so, Harry?" 

Harry shook his sides over James' plainness of 
speech, and admitted that the boy was right. 

"I hate this beastly way of living," continued 
James, "and I don't see why a fellow should act 
like a brute, when he is a man. I don't believe that 
you respect yourself, Harry." 

"Right again !" shouted Harry. "Yer see, if I 
did 'spect myself, I should n't do as I do. That's 
the trouble, — I have no 'spect for myself." And the 



TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH. 



205 



poor, weak fellow never spoke a plainer truth in his 
life. Proper self-respect will lead such devotees of 
vice to reform, and be men. 

" Yer see, Jim," added Harry, " I couldn't be like 
yer if I tried." 

"That's bosh," replied James. "Just as if a man 
can't be decent when he tries ! You can't make 
that go, Harry. Throw whisky and tobacco over- 
board, as Murphy's hat went, and the thing is done." 

"So you'd take all a feller's comforts away, Jim, 
t'backer and all," interposed Harry. 

" Yes ; and this awful profanity that I hear, also," 
retorted James. "I would make a clean sweep of 
the whole thing. What good does it all do?" 

"What good ! humph!" exclaimed Harry. "Yer 
are not fool 'nough to think we 'spect to do good in 
this way ! " And Harry laughed again heartily, ad- 
mitting the truth of James' position, without pro- 
posing to defend himself. 

" What do you do it for, then?" 

" Do \\for ! don't do it for nothin', Jim," responded 
Harry. "Nary good or evil we are after." 

"You're a bigger fool than I thought you were," 
added James. " Making a brute of yourself for 
nothing. If that isn't being a fool, then I don't 
know what a fool is." 

Harry laughed more loudly than ever, as he 
turned away, accepting the advice of James in the 
same spirit in which it was tendered. That he was 
not at all offended is evident from the fact that he 
was heard to say to Murphy afterwards, — 



206 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

* f Jim is a great feller. I've an orful itchin' to see 
what sort of a man he'll make. The way he rakes 
me down on whisky, t'backer, and swearing, is a 
caution ; and he don't say a word that ain't true ; 
that's the trouble. And he says it in sich a w r ay, 
that yer knows he means it. Jist think, Murphy ; 
a boy on this old canal as don't drink rum, or 
smoke, or chew, or swear, or fight, — would yer 
believe it, if yer didn't see it? " 

Murphy acknowledged that it was an anomaly on 
the Ohio and Pennsylvania canal, and hinted that 
he should like to know where the "feller" came 
from. 

" I like him, though, Murphy," Harry continued. 
M I allers liked a man to show his colors. I like to 
know w 7 here a feller is, if he be agin me. And Jim 
is so cute ; he'll beat the whole crowd on us tellin' 
stories, only they are not nasty, like the rest on us 
tell. Isn't he a deep one? He knows more'n all 
the crew put together, and two or three more boat- 
loads added, into the bargain." 

James had fairly established himself in the re- 
spect and confidence, not only of the sober and 
intelligent captain, but of the drunken, ignorant 
crew, as well. On the whole, they were proud of 
him. Said the steersman to the bowman of another 
boat, "We've got a feller in our crew just the big- 
gest trump yer ever see. Nary drinks whisky, 
smokes, chews, swears, or fights, — d'ye believe it, 
old feller?" and he slapped the bowman on the 
back as he said it. 



TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH. 2 07 



"Where'd he cum from?" the bowman inquired. 

"That's what we'd like ter know, yer see; where 
he cum from, and how he happen'd to cum," re- 
sponded the steersman. "But he's a jolly good fel- 
ler, strong as a lion, could lick any on us if he's a 
mind to ; and he's a pealer for work, too ; ain't 
afraid to dirty hisself; and buckles right down to 
bisness, he does, jist like any on us. I never seed 
just such a boy." 

That the captain was won by the amount and 
quality of James' work, as well as by the reliability 
of his character, is evident from the fact that he 
promoted him to bowman at the end of his first trip. 
We mistrust that, in addition to the captain's confi- 
dence in his ability for the position, that he exercised 
military tactics in the appointment, and concluded 
that it would put an end to brutal fights for the pos- 
session of locks. 

By the confession of captain and crew, most of 
whom are still alive, James was a successful peace- 
maker on the canal boat, and his influence elevated 
the rough boatmen to some extent. He did it, too, 
without making an enemy, but real friends of all. 
His forte lay in that direction. 

The testimony of the captain is, that James did 
everything thoroughly as well as promptly ; that he 
was as conscientious as he was resolute, declining 
to participate in any project that he considered 
wrong ; that he possessed remarkable tact in his 
business as well as in dealing with men ; and that 
he was a model boy in every respect, — " not talka- 



208 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

tive, but very intelligent ; and when drawn into con- 
versation, he surprised us by the depth of his knowl- 
edge on the topics of the day." 

On the canal boat James had no books to read ; 
and this was a serious privation. Occasionally, the 
captain had an opportunity to purchase newspapers, 
and these James read through and through. The 
captain thinks, however, that the absence of reading- 
matter was fully made up to him by the opportunity 
and demand for the exercise of his observation. He 
studied men and business, and asked a multitude of 
questions. Patrick Henry once said that he owed 
his success to " studying men more than books." 
Garfield studied men more than books, and the cap- 
tain aided him materially by answering his ques- 
tions. Perhaps it was an advantage for him, in the 
circumstances, to be where no books could be had 
for love or money. 

James appeared to possess a singular aflinity for 
the water. He fell into the water fourteen times 
during the two or three months he served on the 
canal boat. It was not because he was so clumsy 
that he could not keep right side up, nor because he 
did not understand the business ; rather, we think, 
it arose from his thorough devotion to his work. He 
gave more attention to the labor in hand than he did 
to his own safety. He was one who never thought 
of himself when he was serving another. He thought 
only of what he had in hand to do. His application 
was intense, and his perseverance royal. 

The last time he fell into the water he came near 



TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH. 



209 



losing his life. It was on one very rainy night, 
when he was called up to take his turn at the how. 
The boat was just leaving one of those long reaches 
of slack-water which abound in the Ohio and Penn- 
sylvania Canal. James was awaked out of a very 
sound sleep, and he responded with his eyes half 
open, scarcely comprehending as yet the situation, 
and took his stand upon the platform below the bow- 
deck. He began to uncoil a rope to steady the boat 
through a lock it was approaching. The rope 
caught somehow on the edge of the deck, and re- 
sisted several pulls that he made to extricate it. At 
last it yielded, but, in the rebound, sent him head- 
long over the bow into the water. It was a very 
dark night, and he went down into the water, which 
was blacker than the night. In the mean while the 
boat was sweeping on, and no mortal knew of his 
mishap, and not a helping hand was near. Death 
seemed inevitable. Fortunately his hand seized the 
rope in the darkness, by accident, men will say, but 
by providential guidance really, and he drew him- 
self, hand over hand, upon deck. He saw that he 
had been saved as by a miracle. The rope would 
have been of no service to him, only it caught in a 
crevice on the edge of the deck and held fast. He 
stood there dripping in his wet clothes, his thoughts 
running thus : 

"What saved me that time? It must have been 
God. I could not have saved myself. Just a kink 
in the rope catching in that crevice saved me, noth- 
ing else. That was almost miraculous, and God 

14 



2IO LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

does miraculous things. He thinks my life is worth 
saving, and I ought not to throw it away on a sea- 
faring life, and I won't. I will renounce all such 
ideas and get an education." 

During the time that he was thus reflecting he 
was trying to throw the rope so that it would catch 
in the crevice. Again and again he coiled the rope 
and threw r it; but it would neither kink nor catch. 
Repeated trials satisfied him that supernatural causes 
put the kinked rope into his hand, and saved his 
life. 

That accident made a very deep impression upon 
his mind. His thoughts more than ever turned to 
his home and praying mother. He knew that every 
day his dear mother remembered him at the throne 
of grace. He had no more doubt of it than he had 
of his existence. " Was it her prayers?" He could 
not evade the inquiry. He thought of all her anxie- 
ties and wise counsels, and her undying love. "Such 
a mother ! " The thought would force itself upper- 
most in spite of himself. He felt rebuked, although 
he had been a good, obedient son. He had not been 
tender enough of his mother's feelings ; he would be 
in future. He would quit the canal boat forever. 

It was but a few weeks after the last immersion 
before James was quite severely attacked by ague, 
a disease that prevailed somewhat in that region. It 
prostrated him to such a degree that he was unfitted 
for labor ; and this offered a favorable opportunity 
for him to carry out the resolution of that night of 
disaster. 



TRIUMPHS ON THE TOW-PATH. 2 II 

" I must go home, captain," said James. 

w It's a wise conclusion, Jim. You are too unwell 
for work, and there's no place like home for sick 
folks. I don't want to part with you, and the men 
will be sorry to have you go ; but I think you'd bet- 
ter go." 

" I regret to leave your service, captain, for I've 
enjoyed it ; but I've been thinking of your advice, 
and I guess I shall put it in practice." 

" You can't do a wiser thing, Jim ; and I wouldn't 
lose a day about it. As soon as you are able, I'd go 
to studying, if I was in your place." 

The captain settled with James, paying him at the 
rate of twelve dollars a month while he was driver, 
and eighteen dollars a month while he was bowman ; 
and James started for home. 

James was never so melancholy in his life as he 
was on the way home. The ague had taken his 
strength away, and made him almost as limp as a 
child. Then, he was thinking more of his duties, 
and his good mother. He had not written to her in 
his absence, between two and three months, and he 
rather rebuked himself for the neglect. "True," he 
thought, "I have been on the wing all of the time, 
and there has been little opportunity for w r riting ; " 
and so he partially excused himself for the neglect. 
His mother supposed that he was serving on a 
schooner somewhere on Lake Erie. He ought to 
have informed her of his whereabouts. So his 
thoughts were busy during his lonely journey home. 



212 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



It was nearly dark when he left the boat, so that he 
did not reach home until eleven o'clock at night. 

As he drew near the house, he could see the light 
of the fire through the window. His heart beat 
quick and strong ; he knew that it would be a glad 
surprise to his mother. Looking in at the window, 
he beheld her kneeling in the corner, with a book 
open in the chair before her. Was she reading ? 
He looked again: her eyes were turned heaven- 
ward ; she was praying. He listened, and he dis- 
tinctly heard, " Oh, turn unto me, and have mercy 
upon me ! Give Thy strength unto Thy servant, 
and save the son of Thine handmaid ! " That was 
enough ; he waited to hear no more. Mother and 
son were united again in loving embrace ; and the 
tears that were shed were tears of joy. 




THE 



XIV. 

TURNING-POINT. 




jHY, James ! " exclaimed his mother, when 
the excitement of their meeting was over, 
you look sick.'' 

"I am sick; and that's the reason I 
came home. It's been a very hard walk for me, I 
am so weak." 

"How long have you been sick?" inquired his 
mother, with much anxietv. 

" Not long. I've got the ague ; had it a week or 
more." 

: The ague ! " answered his mother, astonished ; 
[* I didn't know that they ever had the acme on a 
ship." & 

"I have not been on a ship, but on the canal." 
"On the canal !" rejoined his mother, still more 
surprised. " I thought you was on the lake all this 
time. How did it happen that you was on the 

canal? " 

James rehearsed his experience on the schooner 
that he boarded, especially narrating his encounter 

213 



214 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

with the captain, and his haste to escape from such 
a demon ; how he met his cousin, Amos Letcher, of 
the canal-boat " Evening Star," and bargained with 
him for the position of driver, not omitting his hair- 
breadth escapes on the boat ; concluding by a de- 
scription of the exposures of the business, in conse- 
quence of which he was attacked by the ague. 

His mother listened to the narration, which was 
more interesting to her than a novel, remarking at 
the close of it, 

" God has wonderfully preserved you, and brought 
you back, in answer to my prayers." 

James was too full to make much reply. He 
managed, however, to say, Pt Nobody saved me 
from drowning, that dark night, but God." This 
brief remark sent a thrill of pleasure through his 
mother's heart. With all his obedience and excel- 
lence of character, James had not given before so 
much evidence as this that he recognized his per- 
sonal obligations to God. His mother construed it 
into genuine religious conviction, and she was re- 
joiced beyond measure by the revelation. 

" You must say no more to-night ; you must go to 
bed, and get some rest," added his mother. " In the 
morning I will see how, and what can be done for 
you." 

Both retired ; his mother to a restless bed, being 
too full of joy and grateful thoughts to sleep. She 
lived over her whole life again, during that night, 
with all its checkered scenes ; and she penetrated 
the future, in imagination, and beheld her dear 



THE TURNING-POINT. 



215 



boy dignifying his manhood by an honorable and 
useful career. tr If he could only become a preach- 
er ! " The thought grew upon her in the " night 
watches." It became a source of real delight to her ; 
and she thanked God, again and again, for his 
goodness. She found more enjoyment in wakeful- 
ness and her thoughts, on that night, than she 
could have had in the sweetest sleep. It was the 
silent communings of a trulv Christian heart. 

Very early in the morning Mrs. Garfield was at 
the bedside of her son, anxious to learn how he was. 
He was in a sound sleep. She waited until the sun- 
light was bathing his brow, when she entered his 
room again. Her presence awoke him. 

f You've had a sweet sleep, James," she said, in- 
quiringly. 

"The best sleep I've had for a week," James an- 
swered. "I was dreadful tired last night. I feel 
better this morning." 

The ague is a fitful disease, and attacks its victims 
periodically, leaving them comparatively comfort- 
able and strong on some days. James was really 
very comfortable on that morning, — there was no 
visible appearance of the ague upon him, — and he 
proposed to get up, dress himself, and look about 
the home that seemed more pleasant to him than 
ever. Returning to the kitchen, Mrs. Garfield pre- 
pared some simple remedy for him, such as pioneers 
were wont to administer to ague-patients. Pioneers 
were more or less familiar with the disease, and un- 
derstood somewhat how to manage it. In severe 



2i6 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



cases a physician was called in to administer calo- 
mel — that was considered a specific at that time — 
until salivation was produced. 

James was not comfortable long. On the follow- 
ing day a violent attack of the disease prostrated 
him completely. 

" There's a hard bunch on my left side, and pain," 
said James, to his mother. 

" That's the ague-cake," replied his mother, on 
examining the spot. 5 That always appears in se- 
vere cases." The name was given by pioneers to 
the hardness ; perhaps physicians called it by some 
other name. 

"You are pretty sick, my son," continued Mrs. 
Garfield, " and I think vou must have the doctor. 
Don't you think you better have the doctor? " 

" Perhaps so ; just as you think about it," was 
James' reply. 

The physician of a neighboring village was sent 
for ; and he put the patient through the usual calo- 
mel treatment, salivating him, and really causing 
him to suffer more by the remedy than by the dis- 
ease. For weeks the big, strong boy lay almost 
as weak and helpless as a child. It was a new and 
rough experience for James. It was the first sick- 
ness he ever had ; and to lie in bed and toss with 
fever, and shake with ague, by turns, was harder 
for him than chopping wood or planing boards. 
But for the wise management and tender care of his 
mother his experience would have been much more 
trying yet. 



THE TURNING-POINT. 



217 



" How fortunate it was, James, that you came 
home when you did," remarked his mother. 

" It was so, though I should have come home be- 
fore long, if I had been well," replied James. 

" Then you thought of giving up work on the 
canal?" continued Mrs. Garfield. 

" Yes ; I got about enough of it. Amos told me 
that I was a fool to follow such business w r hen I am 
capable of something better," replied James, drop- 
ping just a word concerning his interview with Cap- 
tain Letcher. 

" I should agree with Amos on that," remarked 
his mother, smiling. f You knew that before." 

" If God saved my life on that night, I didn't 
know but he saved it for something," added James ; 
another indication of higher aspirations, that gratified 
his mother very much. 

" If God did not save your life, it would be hard 
telling who did," responded Mrs. Garfield. "None 
of us should be blind to the lessons of His Provi- 
dence. It's my opinion that the Lord didn't mean 
you should go to sea, and so he headed you off by 
that monster of a captain." 

"Perhaps so," James answered, in a tone that 
might indicate either indifference or weakness. 

" If God answers my prayers, James, you'll get an 
education, and be a teacher or preacher. My cup 
will run over when I see you in such a position." 

"What if I should be a lawyer," remarked James. 

"Well, I shall not object to that, if you are a good 
man. A wicked lawyer is almost as bad as a sailor. 



2l8 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

Above all things I want you should feel that the 
Lord has the first claim upon your love and service. 
Don't you ever think, James, that you ought to give 
your heart to Him, and try for a more useful life?" 

This question was unexpected to James, at the 
time, although such interrogations had often been 
put to him formerly. Indeed, the inquiry that Mrs. 
Garfield put was unexpected to herself, for she did 
not intend to put such a question when the conversa- 
tion began. She expected to come to it sometime, 
however. She was feeling- her way along, and 
leading her boy as best she could ; yet, James an- 
swered, 

" I've thought more about it lately." 

" I hope you will continue to think about it, my 
son. It is the greatest thing you can think about. 
If you will only consecrate your powers to God, I 
know that you will make the best possible use of 
them ; and you won't make such use of them unless 
you do that." 

Mrs. Garfield was very discreet, and thought it 
not best to press the matter too persistently, but 
leave James to his own reflections. She was confi- 
dent that the Lord had taken him in hand, and was 
leading him in a way the son knew not. She was 
greatly encouraged, and her prayers were more 
earnest than ever for his conversion to Christ. 

The weeks dragged heavily along, and winter set 
in. James was still sick, but convalescent. A few 
weeks more, according to his improved symptoms, 
and he would be well enough for business, or school. 



THE TURNING-POINT. 



219 



The winter school near Mrs. Garfield's began the 
first week in December, and it was taught by a 
young man by the name of Samuel D. Bates. He 
was a young man of ability, a very earnest Chris- 
tian, looking forward to the ministry in connection 
with the Disciples' Church. He was, also, an ener- 
getic, working young man, possessing large com- 
mon sense, and intensely interested in benefiting the 
young people, intellectually and spiritually. From 
the commencement of the school he was very popu- 
lar, too. 

Mrs. Garfield made his acquaintance, and at once 
concluded that he was just the person to influence 
James to aspire to an education. She could not 
help him herself, but her faith that God would open 
the way for him to go to school was unfaltering. 
She improved the first opportunity to tell Mr. Bates 
about James, — his sickness, frame of mind, and as- 
pirations. She frankly announced to him that she 
wanted he should bring all his influence upon James 
to induce him to strive for an education. The 
teacher readily consented, for that was a kind of 
business in which he delighted, to help young men 
onward and upward. His first call upon James was 
immediate, though he did not announce the real ob- 
ject he had in view, thinking it would not be wise. 
• " Mr. Bates is a very interesting man, James," re- 
marked Mrs. Garfield, after the teacher left. "I 
don't wonder the scholars like him." 

" I like him very much," replied James. " I hope 



220 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

he will come in here often. I wish I was able to go 
to school to him." 

" I wish you could ; but Providence orders other- 
wise, and it will be all for the best, I have no doubt. 
Mr. Bates is working his way into the ministry. He 
teaches school in order to earn money to pay his 
bills. That is what you could do. If you could go 
to school a few months, you could teach school next 
winter, and, in that way, earn money for further 
schooling." 

" I don't know as I should be contented in that 
occupation," responded James. " Once in a while, 
mother, I have a strong desire to go to sea again. 
There is something about the water that fascinates 
me. The sight of a ship fills my eye; indeed, the 
thought of a ship awakens a strong desire within, to 
tread its deck and handle its ropes." 

" But you are not disposed to return to the canal, 
or to follow a sea-faring life ? " inquired his mother, 
surprised at his frank avowal. She had begun to 
think that he had abandoned all thoughts of the sea. 

"I should like it if I thought it was best," he an- 
swered. 

" It is not best, James ; I can see that plainly." 

" Since I have got better, my desire for the sea 
has returned, in a measure," added James, "causing 
me to ask myself if I shall not be disappointed if I 
abandon the purpose altogether." 

"Not at all," responded Mrs. Garfield. "When 
you once get engaged in study you will like it far 
better than you can the sea, I am sure ; and teach- 



THE TURNING-POINT. 221 

ing school is a business that will bring you both 
money and respect. I think we can manage to 
scrape together money enough for you to start with." 

" I will think it over," added James ; " I shan't de- 
cide in a hurry." 

" If you work on the canal, or become a sailor on 
the lake, you will have work only part of the year," 
continued his mother. "You will find little to do in 
the winter. How much better it will be for you to go 
to school, and qualify yourself for a teacher ! Then 
you can sail in the summer, and teach school in the 
winter." 

Mrs. Garfield feared that a total abandonment of 
the idea of going to sea would be quite impossible 
for James at present; and so her policy was to lure 
him into the way of knowledge by degrees. She 
suggested sailing in summer, and teaching in winter, 
hoping, that when he had qualified himself to teach, 
he would be so much in love with books as to banish 
all thoughts of a ship. 

There was a sort of mystery in James' strong 
desire for a sea-faring life, to his mother. And yet 
there was no mystery about it. Many are born with 
an adventurous, daring spirit, which the reading of 
a book may set strongly in a given direction. There 
is no doubt that the books James read at the black- 
salter's were the spark that kindled his adventurous 
spirit into a flame. We have seen a sailor who en- 
joys life on the ocean with the keenest relish, and his 
attention was first turned in that direction by a book 
presented to him by his uncle. 



222 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



It is related of a traveler, that he sought lodgings 
one night at a farm house in Vermont. He found 
an aged couple, well-to-do in this world's goods, 
living there alone. In the course of the evening he 
learned that they had three sons following the sea. 
It was an inexplicable affair to them, that their sons, 
living far away from the sea, should have so strong 
a desire to be sailors, from boyhood. One after the 
other, when they attained the age of twelve or fifteen, 
an almost incontrollable desire for the sea had taken 
possession of them. In each case, too, the parents 
gave their consent to entering upon a sea-faring life 
not until they feared the sons would go without it. 
While the father was rehearsing the story of their 
lives, the traveler was observing a painting on the 
ceiling, over the mantel-piece. It w r as an ocean 
scene, — a ship sailing over a tranquil sea, — painted 
after the manner of the olden times. When the 
father ceased his remarks, the traveler said, 

" There is the cause of your sons' sailor-life, 
(pointing to the painting). From infancy they have 
had that painting before their eyes, and it has edu- 
cated them for the sea. In the earliest years, when 
their hearts were most impressible, that ocean scene 
set them in that direction ; and finally their hearts 
were made to burn with unconquerable desire." 

This explanation was perfectly satisfatory to the 
aged couple, and, no doubt, it was the correct one. 
The fact shows that there is no mystery about such 
a love for the ocean as James possessed. Such a 
fervent nature as his would readily be ignited by a 



THE TURNING-POINT. 



223 



random spark from a glowing book or a glowing 
speech. Nor has he ever outgrown this delight in 
the sea. Although more than thirty years have 
elapsed since his conflict with the ague, he said 
recently, "The sight of a ship fills me with a strange 
fascination. When upon the water, and my fellow- 
men are suffering sea-sickness, I am as tranquil as 
when walking the land in serenest weather. The 
spell of r Jack Halyard ' has not yet worn off." 

Mr. Bates continued his calls at the Garfield's, 
always aiming to draw out James in respect to his 
religious convictions, and his plans for the future. 
All these interviews were very profitable to James. 
His mother saw clearly, that in the skillful hands of 
the teacher he was being moulded, and her heart 
rejoiced. She was satisfied that he was making 
progress in religious purpose. He was frank to con- 
fess his need of Divine grace, and renewing, and to 
express a purpose to become a Christian. At the 
last interview which we have space to notice, Mr. 
Bates brought him to a final decision. 

"Look here, young man," he said ; "the differ- 
ence between a scholar and sailor is the difference 
between somebody and nobody." And he rung the 
changes on the words scholar and sailor, until 
the latter appeared almost beneath the notice. 

" Go to school with me at Chester on the first 
week in March," said Mr. Bates. " Settle that first, 
that you w r ill go with me to school at that time. 
That will be the first step, and the most important." 

" I will go," answered James, unexpectedly at that 



22.| LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

moment to his mother. He said it with emphasis, 
indicating that the matter was settled. 

"That's business/' continued Mr. Bates. "I have 
no concern about the details, as to how you will 
raise money to pay your way, or whether you will 
have to relinquish the attempt to acquire an educa- 
tion after you have begun your studies. All these 
things will come right at the time, and the way will 
be provided. You have said, ' I will go J and that 
commits you to the great purpose of your life. It is 
the turning -point of your career. You have set your 
face towards 'Geauga Seminary,' and I have no idea 
that you will look back, or hanker for a ship, or do 
any other unmanly thing. I consider that the turn- 
ing point of my life was when I finally decided to 
be educated for the ministry ; and from that moment 
I have felt it was the great decision of my life." 

These words exerted a profound influence upon 
James, and that influence deepened from year to 
year, as he grew older. Years afterwards, as we 
have seen, when addressing an audience of young 
men, he bore strongly upon this point, and said, "It 
is a great point gained when a young man makes 
up his mind to devote several years to the accom- 
plishment of a definite work." 

A mother's prayers and love had triumphed. Was 
she not a happy woman? 

"I have a little money, and I know where I can 
get a little more, and that will be enough to start 
on," his mother remarked. 

"I can find work to do out of school, and on Satur- 



THE TURNING-POINT 2 2$ 



days, when school don't keep, and so earn money to 
pay my way," responded James. 

"Yes, I've no doubt of it. You know that Mr. 
Bates said all these things would come around right 
when you had decided to go," remarked Mrs. Gar- 
field. 

M I mean to see if William and Henry will not 
go, too; we can room together," continued James. 
These were his two cousins, who lived close by, 
sons of his uncle, Amos Boynton. They were mem- 
bers of his Spelling Club a few years before, when, 
together, they mastered Noah Webster's Spelling 
Book. 

f ' That will be a good idea, James ; and I think 
they will go," responded his mother, encouragingly. 
f There is no reason why they should not go." 

It was only three weeks before the school at Ches- 
ter would begin. James announced to his cousins 
that he had resolved to attend Geauga Seminary, 
and wanted they should go, too. The subject was 
discussed in the family for a week ; Mr. Bates was 
consulted, and was glad to influence two other boys 
to take so wise a step ; and finally it was settled that 
William and Henry should go with James. 

While matters were progressing thus favorably, 
James heard that Dr. J. P. Robinson, of Bedford, 
was coming into the neighborhood on a professional 
visit, and, without consulting any one, he resolved 
to consult him concerning the practicability of his 
decision to acquire an education. It was not be- 
cause he was wavering at all, but it was more of a 
15 



226 LOG-CABIN 10 WHITE HOUSE. 

curiosity on his part. So he called upon the doctoi 
after his arrival at the neighbor's, and the interview, 
as narrated by Dr. Robinson to a writer, recently, 
was as follows : 

" He was rather shabbily clad, in coarse satinet 
trousers, far outgrown, and reaching only half-way 
down the tops of his cowhide boots ; a waistcoat 
much too short, and a threadbare coat whose sleeves 
went only a little below the elbows. Surmounting 
the whole was a coarse slouched hat, much the 
worse for wear ; and as the lad removed it, in mak- 
ing his obeisance to the physician, he displayed a 
heavy shock of unkempt yellow hair that fell half- 
way down his shoulders. 

" f He was wonderfully awkward,' says the good 
doctor, ' but had a sort of independent, go-as-you- 
please manner, that impressed me favorably.' 

" f Who are you?' was his somewhat gruff salu- 
tation. 

" r My name is James Garfield, from Orange,' re- 
plied the latter. 

f Oh, I know your mother, and knew you when 
you were a babe in arms ; but you have outgrown 
my knowledge. I am glad to see you.' 

" r I want to see you alone,' said young Garfield. 

" The doctor led the way to a secluded spot in the 
neighborhood of the house, and there, sitting down 
on a log, the youth, after a little hesitation, opened 
his business. 

r You are a physician,' he said, 'and know the 
fibre that is in men. Examine me, and tell me with 



THE TURNING-POIXT. 2 2J 



the utmost frankness whether I had better take a 
course of liberal study. I am contemplating doing 
so ; my desire is in that direction. But if I am to 
make a failure of it, or practically so, I do not desire 
to begin. If you advise me not to do so I shall feel 
content.' 

" In speaking of this incident, the doctor has re- 
marked, recently : c I felt that I was on my sacred 
honor, and the young man looked as though he felt 
himself on trial. I had had considerable experience 
as a physician, but here was a case much different 
from any other I had ever had. I felt that it must 
be handled with great care. I examined his head, 
and saw that there was a magnificent brain there. 
I sounded his lungs, and found that they were strong, 
and capable of making good blood. I felt his pulse, 
and saw that there was an engine capable of sending 
the blood up to the head to feed the brain. I had 
seen many strong physical systems with warm feet, 
but cold, sluggish brain ; and those who possessed 
such systems would simply sit around and doze. 
Therefore I was anxious to know about the kind of 
an engine to run that delicate machine, the brain. 
At the end of a fifteen-minutes' careful examination 
of this kind, we rose, and I said, "Go on, follow the 
leadings of your ambition, and ever after I am your 
friend. You have the brain of a Webster, and you 
have the physical proportions that will back you in 
the most herculean efforts. All you need to do is to 
work. Work hard, do not be afraid of overwork- 
ing, and you will make your mark.'" " 



228 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" I wish you had a belter suit of clothes, James," 
remarked his mother, " but we shall have to make 
these do, I guess." It was the same suit he had on 
when he called upon Dr. Robinson. Indeed, he 
possessed no other suit. The trousers were nearly 
out at the knees, but under the skillful hand of his 
mother they were made almost as good as new. 

w Good enough, any way," said James, in reply to 
his mother's wish. It was fortunate that he was not 
the victim of a false pride : -if he had been, he would 
not have consented to attend a " seminary " in that 
plight. 

It was settled that the boys should board them- 
selves, each one carrying his own outfit in utensils 
and provisions, doing it as a matter of economy. 

When Mrs. Garfield had scraped together all the 
money she could for James, the amount was only 
about eleven dollars: 

"That will do to begin with," he remarked. "I 
can earn more." 




XV. 



GEAUGA SEMINARY. 




|N the fifth day of March, the day before 
the school opened, James and his cousins 
traveled to Chester, on foot, quite heavily 
loaded with cooking utensils and provi- 
sions. The distance was ten miles, over roads 
that were poor, indeed, at that season of the year. 
They carried dippers, plates, a knife and fork each, 
a fry-pan, kettle, and other things to match, with a 
quantity of ham, or "bacon," as the settlers called 
it. James was arrayed in the suit of clothes in 
which he appeared before Dr. Robinson, and the 
other boys were clad about ditto. No one would 
have charged them with pride, on their way to the 
" Seminary." At this day, some faithful constable 
would arrest such a troupe for tramps, who had 
robbed a farmer's kitchen and were taking " leg-bail." 
Nevertheless, they were three as jolly boys as Cuy- 
ahoga County could boast. Their errand was 
nobler and grander than that of any aspirant who 
was fishing for an office in the State of Ohio. Why 
should they not be jolly ? 

229 



230 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

They proceeded directly to the house of the prin- 
cipal, Mr. Daniel Branch, an eccentric man, though 
a very respectable scholar in some departments. 

"We've come to attend your school," said James, 
addressing himself to Mr. Branch. " We came 
from Orange." 

" What's your name? " inquired the principal. 

"My name is James A. Garfield ; and these are 
my cousins (turning to the boys) ; their names are 
William and Henry Boynton." 

rr Well, I'm glad to see you, boys; you might be 
engaged in much worse business than this. I sup- 
pose you are no richer than most of the scholars we 
have here." 

The last remark of Mr. Branch is good evidence 
that he had surve} r ed the new-comers from head to 
foot, and that the remark was prompted by their 
poor apparel. 

"No, sir," answered James, dryly; "we are not 
loaded down with gold or silver, but with pots, and 
kettles, and provisions for housekeeping." 

"Going to board yourselves, then," replied the 
teacher, by way of inquiry. 

"Yes, sir; can you tell us where we can find a 
room? " answered James. 

" Yes ; near by," answered Mr. Branch ; " a good 
deal of that business is done here. Scores of our 
boys and girls would never stay here if they could not 
board themselves. Look here," and stepping out 
from the door-way he pointed to an old, unpainted 
house, twenty or thirty rods away. " You see that 



GEAUGA SEMINARY. 23 1 

old house there, do you?" he said. James assented. 
" I think you will find a room there ; an old lady, as 
poor as you are, lives in one part of it. You will go 
to her to inquire." 

M Thank you, sir, thank you," repeated the boys, 
politely, as they started for the antique habitation. 
Thev found the old ladv, and hired a room, for a 
pittance, in which there were a fireplace, three old 
chairs, that corresponded with the building, and two 
beds on the floor, or what the good woman of the 
house was bold enough to call beds. Here they 
unpacked their goods, and set up housekeeping by 
cooking their first meal. 

The " Geauga Seminary " was a Free-will Baptist 
institution, in quite a flourishing condition, having a 
hundred students, of both sexes, drawn thither from 
the towns in that region. The town in which it 
was located, Chester, was small, but pleasant, the 
academy furnishing the only attraction of the place. 

School opened, and James devoted himself to 
grammar, natural philosophy, arithmetic, and al- 
gebra. He had never seen but one algebra before 
he purchased the one he used. The principal ad- 
vised him to take this course of study. 

It was a new scene for James, a school of one 
hundred pupils, male and female, most of them bet- 
ter clad than himself. He was awkward and bash- 
ful, especially in the presence of young ladies, 
whom he regarded as far superior to young men of 
the same age and attainments. Still he broke into 
the routine of the school readily, and soon was un- 



232 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

der full headway, like a new vessel with every sail 
set. 

Singularly enough, he encountered an unexpected 
difficulty in the grammar-class within a very few 
days. 

James said, " but is a conjunction." 

" Not so ; but is a verb, and means be out," re- 
plied the teacher. 

" A verb ! but a verb ?" exclaimed James, in re- 
ply, without scarcely thinking that he was calling 
the teacher's opinion in question. He had Kirk- 
man's grammar at his command, even to its preface, 
which he could glibly repeat, word by word ; and he 
knew that but was a conjunction, according to Kirk- 
man, and all the teachers whose pupil he had been. 
Could his teacher be joking, or did he make a blun- 
der? 

f Yes ; but is a verb, no matter what the books 
say, young man ; whose grammar have you 
studied?" the teacher answered. 

" Kirkman's," replied James. 

w Kirkman ! and he is just like all the rest of 
them, wrong from beginning to end," said Mr. 
Branch. " That's not the grammar you will learn 
in this school, I can tell you, by any means. I 
teach a grammar of my own, the grammar of com- 
mon sense." 

James thought it was the grammar of nonsense, 
though he did not say so. At that time he did not 
know that Mr. Branch was at war with all the 



GEAUGA SEMINARY. 233 



grammarians, and had introduced a system of in- 
struction in that study peculiarly his own. 

"Besides Kirkman, all the teachers I ever had 
have called but a conjunction," added James, di- 
rectly implying that he did not accept Branch's 
grammar. 

'You don't believe it, I clearly see, young man; 
but you will long before you have spent twelve 
weeks in this school," remarked Mr. Branch. "You 
will have sense enough to see that I am right, and 
the old grammarians wrong." 

"If but is a verb, I don't see why and is not a 
verb also," remarked James, being quite inclined to 
array Kirkman against Branch. 

" It is a verb, James ; and is a verb, I want you to 
understand, in the imperative mood, and means add; 
that is all there is to it," was the emphatic answer 
of Mr. Branch. 

James looked at the boys, and smiled in his know- 
ing way. The teacher saw the unbelief which per- 
vaded that look, and he continued, 

"See here, young man, and does something more 
than connect two things ; it adds. I want to speak 
of you and Henry, two of you together, and I say, 
James and Henry ; that is, add Henry to James : 
don't you see it now? It is clear as daylight." 

There was no daylight in it to James, and he so 
expressed himself. Each day brought discussion in 
the class between the principal and James. The 
former's system of grammar was all of a piece with 
and and but, so that the hour for the grammar class 



234 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

was an hour of contention, very spicy to the mem- 
bers of the class, but rather annoying to the teacher. 
The latter was not long in discovering that he had a 
remarkable scholar in James, — one who would not 
receive anything on trust, or without the most sub- 
stantial reason or proof. His respect for James' 
talents somewhat reconciled him to his annoying 
contradictions. 

The boys had much sport over Branch's gram- 
mar ; we mean James and his cousins. 

"If but is a verb, then hutfcr must be an adverb, 
since it only adds three more letters and one more 
syllable," said James. 

r You ought to have told him so," replied Henry ; 
"it's a good point: it is carrying out his system ex- 
actly." 

" Not much system about it, any way," responded 
James, "but a good deal of egotism and stubborn- 
ness." 

" You can be as stubborn as he is," remarked 
Henry. " He don't hardly know how to get along 
with Kirkman ; it's tough for him." 

We will not follow the grammar class. It should 
be said, however, that James never adopted Branch's 
grammar. He contended against it so long as he 
continued in the class ; and it is our private opin- 
ion that the author of Branch's Grammar was well 
pleased when James exchanged it for another study. 

The boys succeeded tolerably well at housekeep- 
ing, though they did not extract quite so much fun 
from it as they expected. After a short time, they 



GEAUGA SEMINARY 



235 



hired the old lady in the house to cook some of their 
food. She did their washing, also. It was only a 
very small amount they paid her weekly. Still, 
buying his books, and incurring some other unavoid- 
able expenses, James saw his eleven dollars dwin- 
dling away quite rapidly. 

" I must look up work, or I shall become bankrupt 
soon," remarked James. "I can see the bottom of 
my purse now, almost." 

:f What sort of work do you expect to find in this 
little place?" inquired William. 

"Carpenter's work, I guess," answered James. 
" I've had my eye on that carpenter's shop 'yonder 
(pointing) for some time. They seem to be busy 
there. I never lived anywhere yet that I couldn't 
find work enough. I shall try them to-morrow." 

"What is that carpenter's name?" inquired Wil- 
liam. 

:t Woodworth — Heman Woodworth. I have had 
my eye on him for some time." 

Before school, on the following morning, James 
applied to Mr. Woodworth for work. 

"What do you know about this business?" Mr. 
Woodworth inquired. 

" I have worked for Mr. Treat, of Orange," James 
replied. 

" I know him ; what can you do? " said Mr. Wood- 
worth, 

"I can build a barn, if you want I should," an- 
swered James, laughingly. "I have helped in 
building five or six barns. I can plane for you." 



236 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

1 You look as if you might be a good, strong fel- 
low for planing," continued Mr. Woodworth. 5 You 
pay your own way at school ? " 

"Yes, sir; I had only eleven dollars to begin 
with, and that won't last long." 

"Not long, I shouldn't think, as board is here." 

" I board myself," added James, by way of en- 
lightening the carpenter. 

" Board yourself? That is rather tough, though 
many do it." 

" Many things are tougher than that," remarked 
James. 

"Perhaps so; but that is tough enough. You 
may come over after school, and I'll see what I can 
do for vou." 

" And what you can do for yourself," quickly re- 
sponded James. "If I can't work so as to make it 
an object for you to hire me, then I don't wish to 
work for you. I don't ask you to let me have work 
as a matter of charity." 

Mr. Woodworth admired the pluck of the boy, 
and he repeated, "Come over after school, and I will 
see what I can do for you." 

" I can work two or three hours a day, and all day 
on Saturdays ; and you needn't put a price on my 
work until you see what I can do," added James, as 
he turned away. 

The result was that Mr. Woodworth hired James, 
who worked at the shop before school in the morn- 
ing, and then hurried to it at the close of school, at 
four o'clock ; and, on Saturdays, he made a long 



GEAUGA SEMINARY. 



237 



day's labor. He continued this method through the 
term, denying himself of the games and sports en- 
joyed by the scholars, excepting only an occasional 
hour. No boy loved a pastime better than he, but 
to pay his bills was more important than sport. At 
the close of the term he had money enough to pay 
all his bills, and between two and three dollars to 
carry home with him. 

One of the chief attractions of the seminary to 
James was its library, although it was small. It 
contained only one hundred and fifty volumes ; but 
to James that number was a spectacle to behold. lie 
was not long in ascertaining what books it con- 
tained ; not that he read a great many of them, for 
he had not time ; but he examined the library, and 
found it destitute of books of the "Jack Halyard" 
style ; nor was he sorry. He found a class of books 
just suited to aid students like himself in their stud- 
ies, and he was well satisfied. He made as much 
use of them as possible in the circumstances, and 
often read far into the night. It was a luxury to 
him, rather than a self-denial, to extend his studies 
into the night, in order to be perfect in his lessons, 
and secure a little time for reading. 

The regulations of the school made it necessary 
for James to write a composition twice a month, 
sometimes upon a subject announced by the Princi- 
pal, and sometimes upon a topic of his own selec- 
tion. Occasionally, the authors of the essays were 
required to read them to the whole school, from the 
platform. The first time that James read an essay, 



238 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

he trembled more than he did before rebel cannon 
twelve or fourteen years thereafter. 

"Lucky for me," said James to his room mates, 
"that there was a curtain in front of my legs," al- 
luding to a narrow curtain on the edge of the plat- 
form. 

" How so? " inquired William. 

"No one could see my legs shake; you would 
have thought they had the shaking palsy." 

" I never would have thought that of you? " added 
William. 

" It's true, whether you thought it of me or not. I 
never trembled so in my life." 

"Then you was scared? " remarked William. 

" I guess that was the name of it," replied James. 

"Your essay wan't scared, Jim; it was capital," 
continued William. "I should be willing to shake a 
trifle, if I could write such an essay. Some of them 
were astonished that such a suit of clothes as yours 
should hide such a production." 

"Much obliged," answered James ; "you seem to 
praise my essay at the expense of my clothing. 
can afford a better essay than suit of clothes. It 
costs only thought and labor to produce the essay, 
but it costs money to get clothes." 

James had taken from the library the " Life of 
Henry C. Wright," and had become deeply inter- 
ested in its perusal. He learned of the privations 
and denials of Mr. Wright, as well as his methods 
in acquiring an education ; and he was captivated 
by the spirit of the man. 



GEAUGA SEMINARY. 2 $g 



"We can live cheaper than we do," he remarked 
to his cousins. " Another term we must adopt Mr. 
Wright's diet." 

f What was that ! " inquired Henry. 

"Milk." 

"Nothing but milk?" 

"Bread and milk ; a milk diet wholly." 

" How long? " 

" Right through his course of study." 

"Was it cheaper than we are living — thirty-five 
cents a week, apiece." 

" Yes, but better than that, it was healthier." 

" How did he know that? " 

" Because he was better than ever before, and had 
a clearer head for study." 

" It may not suit us, though," remarked William, 
who had been listening to the conversation. 

"We shan't know till we try," answered James. 
" I propose to try it next term. We are a little too 
extravagant in our living now ; we must cut down 
our expenses. I have had the last cent that I shall 
take from my friends. I shall pay my own way 
hereafter." 

"You can't do it," said Henry. 

'Then I will quit study. I know I can do it. 
My mother needs all the money she can get without 
helping me." 

" I admire your pluck," added Henry ; " but I 
think you will find yourself mistaken." 

" As I am earning money now, I can pay my 



240 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

way," continued James; "and on a milk diet I can 
scrimp a little more." 

"And if you should conclude not to eat anything, 
you could live at very small expense," retorted Hen- 
ry, by way of making fun of his milk diet. 

" Laugh at it as much as you please," replied 
James ; " meat is not necessary to health, I am satis- 
fied of that. There is more nourishment in good 
bread and milk than there is in roast-beef." 

"Well, I should take the roast-beef if I could get 
it," interrupted William. " Milk for babes ; and I 
am not a baby." 

" Milk for scholars," responded James ; " I actu- 
ally believe that a better scholar can be made of 
milk than of beef." 

" If you will say r bacon ' instead of beef, perhaps 
I shall agree with you," said William, playfully. "I 
don't think that bacon can produce high scholar- 
ship." 

"Jim's essay was made out of it chiefly," remarked 
Henry ; " that was scholarly. Bacon has contrib- 
uted too much to my comfort for me to berate it 
now." 

And so the boys treated with some levity a subject 
over which James became an enthusiast. He was 
thoroughly taken with Mr. Wright's mode of living, 
and thoroughly resolved to adopt it the next term. 

The Debating Society, also, interested James very 
much ; it was the first one he had ever become ac- 
quainted with. The Principal recommended it high- 
ly as a means of self-culture, and James accepted 



GEAUGA SEMINARY. 24 T 

his recommendation as sound and pertinent. He 
engaged in debate hesitatingly at first, as if he had 
grave doubts of his ability in that direction ; but he 
soon learned to value the Society above many of his 
academical privileges. The trial of his powers in 
debate disclosed a facility within him that he had 
not dreamed of. He possessed a ready command of 
language, could easily express his thoughts upon 
any question under discussion, and was really elo- 
quent for one so ungainly in personal appearance. 
He studied each question before the club as he 
would study a lesson in Algebra, determined to mas- 
ter it. He could usually find books in the library 
that afforded him essential aid in preparing for de- 
bates, so that he appeared before the school always 
well posted upon the subject in hand. His familiar- 
ity with them often evoked remarks of surprise from 
both scholars and teachers. It was here, probably, 
that he laid the foundation for that remarkable abil- 
ity in debate that has distinguished him in Congress 
during the last fifteen years. He began by prepar- 
ing himself thoroughly for every discussion, and 
that practice has continued with him to this day. It 
has made him one of the most prompt, brilliant, and 
eloquent disputants in the national legislature. 

It was not strange that James won enviable noto- 
riety in the Debating Society of the Geauga Acad- 
emy. The debates became important and attractive 
to the whole school because he was a disputant. 
Scholars hung upon his lips, as now the listening 
multitude are charmed by his eloquence. Teachers 
16 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



and pupils began very soon to predict for him a 
brilliant future as -a public speaker. In their sur- 
prise and admiration of the young orator they forgot 
the jean trousers, that were too short for his limbs 
by four inches. 

Henry Wilson discovered his ability to express his 
thoughts, before an audience in the village Debating 
Society of Natick, Mass., in early manhood. Here 
he subjected himself to a discipline that insured his 
eminence as a debater in Congress. The celebrated 
English philanthropist Buxton had no thought of 
becoming an orator or a statesman, until he learned, 
in the debating society of the school which he at- 
tended, that he possessed an undeveloped ability for 
the forum. The distinguished English statesman, 
Canning, declared that he qualified himself for his 
public career in the school of his youth, where the 
boys organized and supported a mock parliament, 
conducting the debates, appointing committees, en- 
forcing rules, and pitting one party against the other, 
precisely as was done by Parliament. In like man- 
ner the hero of this volume really began his dis- 
tinguished public career in the lyceum of Geauga 
Seminary. 




XVI. 



AFTER VACATION. 




VACATION of two months in the sum- 
mer gave James ample opportunity foi 
manual labor. Thomas was at home, and 
he decided to build a frame barn for his 
mother. He could have the assistance of James, 
who really knew more about barn - building than 
Thomas did. 

"I s'pose you can frame it, Jim," said Thomas. 
" I suppose that I can, if Algebra and Philosophy 
have not driven out all I learned of the business." 

"You can try your hand at it, then. I should 
think that Algebra and Philosophy would help rather 
than hinder barn-building," added Thomas. 

"Precious little they have to do with barns, I tell 
you," responded James. "They are taking studies, 
though." 

" It won't take you long to find out what you can 
do," continued Thomas ; " it spoils some boys to go 
to school too much." 

Thomas had prepared sufficient lumber when he 

243 



244 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



was at home, at different times, for the barn. It 
was all ready to be worked into the building ; and 
the brothers proceeded to the task resolutely, James 
leading off in framing it. No outside help was 
called in, Thomas and James considering themselves 
equal to the task. 

We need not delay to record the details of the job. 
It will answer our purpose to add, simply, that the 
barn was built by the brothers, and thus one more 
convenience was added for the comfort of their 
mother. The day of log buildings was now over to 
the Garfield family. Times had wonderfully changed 
since Mr. Garfield died, and the population of the 
township had increased, so that "the wilderness and 
solitary place " had disappeared. 

As soon as the barn was completed, James sought 
work elsewhere among the farmers. He must earn 
some money before returning to Chester, for a por- 
tion of his doctor's bill remained unpaid, and then, a 
new suit of clothes, shirts, and other things, would 
require quite an outlay. 

He found a farmer behind time in getting his hay. 

( Yes, I want you," the farmer said ; "and I wish 
you had been here two weeks ago : it seems as if 
haying would hold out all summer." 

'You are rather behind time, I judge," replied 
James. " Better late than never, though." 

" I don't know about that, James. I rather have 
it read, better never late" remarked the sensible 
man. 

" That is my rule," answered James. " At school 



AFTER VACATION. 245 



we are obliged to be on time. Tardiness is not 
allowable." 

" It never should be allowed anywhere. It seems 
as if we can never catch up when we once get be- 
hind," continued the farmer; "and then there is no 
comfort in it. It keeps one in torment all the while 
to feel that he is behindhand : I don't like it." 

"Neither do I," answered James. "It is worse 
to be behindhand in school than it is on a farm, 
much worse, I think. A scholar behind his class is 
an object of pity." 

The farm-work did not continue behindhand long, 
however. The remainder of the haying was accom- 
plished in a week, and James had opportunity for 
other jobs. He found work clear up to the close of 
his vacation, not having even a day for pastime. 
Thus he was able to pay off his doctor's bill, provide 
a better outfit for another school term than he had 
the first term, and to aid his mother also. 

James was not idle during the evenings of his 
vacation. Algebra occupied a portion of his time; 
and two or three reading books which he brought 
from the Chester library beguiled many of his even- 
ing hours. If he had any leisure hours during his 
vacation, they were not idle hours. Every hour 
told upon the new purpose of his life. He had 
ceased to talk about going to sea, or even coasting 
on Lake Erie, in his enthusiasm for an education. 
His mother, of course, never reverted to the subject, 
and she was rejoiced to find that James was aspiring 
after something higher and nobler. He was too 



246 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



much absorbed in his course of study to talk about 
a sea-faring life, or even to think about it. 

"I wish you had some money to take back with 
you, James," remarked his mother, the day before 
he left for the seminary. 

"I don't know as I care for more," answered 
James. " I have a nmefience, (showing the bit, and 
laughing,) and that will go as far as it is possible for 
a ninepence to go. I have it all arranged to work 
for Mr. Wood worth, out of school, and I can easily 
pay my way." 

" That may be true ; but a few dollars to begin 
the term with would be very convenient," responded 
Mrs. Garfield. 

w Better begin with nothing and end with some- 
thing, than to begin with something and end with 
nothing," added James. 

" I suppose, then, that you expect to end the term 
with more money than you begin it with?" said his 
mother, inquiringly. 

"Yes, I do; for I shall want a little change in 
my pocket in the winter, if I teach school," replied 
James. 

" Then you really expect to be qualified to teach 
school next winter, do you? " 

"I design to; perhaps I shall be disappointed, 
though." 

" I hope not," continued his mother. " By teach- 
ing school in the winter you can get together money 
enough to pay your school bills all the rest of the 
year ; and that will make it easy for you. I want to 



AFTER VACATION. 



247 



see you able to earn enough in winter to pay all your 
school bills, so that you will not be obliged to work 
before and after school to earn money." 

" I don't expect to see that time, mother. I am 
.content to work my way along as I have done," was 
James' brave reply. " Nobody can be healthier than 
I am ; so that it don't wear upon me much." 

James returned to Geauga Seminary at the open- 
ing of the fall term, with the solitary ninepence in 
his pocket. He playfully suggested to Henry that 
" the bit must be very lonesome," and thought he 
might provide a " companion " for it ere long. The 
circumstances remind us of the experience of the 
late Horace Mann, of Massachusetts. Born in pov- 
erty, though not so poor as James, he had little hope 
of gratifying his strong desire for an education. 
Providence, however, opened the way for him to 
prepare for college, which he did in six months, not 
knowing whether he would be able to enter or not. 
By dint of perseverance he scraped together money 
enough to get him into college, although he could 
not tell where the money was coming from to keep 
him there. After a few weeks he wrote to his sister, 
" My last two ninepences parted company some days 
ago, and there is no prospect of their ever meeting 
again." That is, he had a solitary ninepence in his 
pocket. 

On the Sabbath after James' return to the semi- 
nary he was at public worship, when the contribu- 
tion-box was passed through the audience. Whether 
James' sympathy for the lonely bit in his pocket got 



248 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

the better of his judgment, or whether it was the 
generosity of his soul, (we suspect it was the latter,) 
he dropped the ninepence into the box, thereby cre- 
ating as great an emptiness as possible in his pocket. 
He was now upon an equality with the widow of the 
Scriptures, who cast her two mites (all she had) into 
the treasury of the Lord. 

James and his cousins boarded themselves during 
the fall term, adopting Wright's milk diet at first, 
thereby reducing their expenses a very little, though 
not much. 

"Just thirty-one cents each, per week," remarked 
James, after the trial of that method of living four 
weeks. He had kept a careful account, and now- 
found the result to be as indicated. 

"I feci as if it had not cost us more than that,' 
answered Henry. " My physical constitution is re- 
duced quite as much as our expenses, I think." 
He said this humorously in part, although he was 
not much captivated with their mode of living. 

" That which costs the least is not always the 
cheapest," remarked William, whose opinions coin- 
cided with those of his brother. f '/ feel as if we 
were having pretty cheap living ; " and he empha- 
sized the word cheap in his peculiar way. 

"Well, I feel as if I had been living on the fat 
of the land," responded James. "I think I could 
handle you both," he added, laughingly. 

"There's no doubt of it," replied Henry; "you 
would grow fat on sawdust pudding, only have 



AFTER VACATION. 249 

enough of it ; but this sticking to one article of diet 
right along don't suit me." 

:f You are one of the philosophers who maintain 
that f variety is the spice of life,' in eating as well as in 
pleasure, I suppose," answered James. "For my 
part, one thing at a time will do for me, if it is only 
good enough." 

" I don't know of one thing alone that is good 
enough for me," remarked Henry. "I go for in- 
creasing our expenses a little. We can go up to fifty 
cents a week without damaging anybody." 

"That's what I think," added William. " I think 
I can be pretty well satisfied with that." 

"Just as you choose, boys ; I can make way with 
nineteen cents' worth of luxuries more, in case of 
necessity," replied James. " Sawdust pudding or 
plum pudding is all the same to me ; I can thrive 
on either." 

"Now, Jim," said Henry, very philosophically, 
"I believe, after all, that you are as anxious as we 
are for better living, only you don't want to own it, 
and back down. You are the last fellow to back out 
of anything." Henry was about right in his remark. 
James was not at all unwilling to adopt a more ex- 
pensive fare, although his iron will would carry him 
through his work with almost any sort of diet. His 
health was so robust, and his power of endurance so 
great, that he could eat much or little, apparently, 
and thrive. 

The upshot of this interview was, that James as- 
sented to the increase of expenses to fifty cents per 



250 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



week, each. Milk was continued chiefly as their 
diet, but other things were added for variety. The 
last half of the term their board cost them fifty cents 
per week. 

James had never spoken with the principal about 
becoming a teacher, although he was intending to 
do it. But Mr. Branch opened the subject about 
the middle of the term. He well knew the pov- 
erty of James, and took additional interest in him 
for that reason. He felt that a youth of his talents 
ought to acquire an education ; and he could see no 
better way of accomplishing it than by teaching 
school in the winter. 

" How would you like to try your hand at school- 
keeping, James?" inquired Mr. Branch. 

" I intend to try my hand at it next winter, if I 
can get a school," answered James. " My mother 
has always said that I could get an education if I 
would qualify myself to teach school." 

"A good plan, James ; I agree with your mother, 
exactly. Glad to see that you mind your mother, 
for such boys usually come out all right." Mr. 
Branch was in a happy frame of mind when he said 
this, and his real kindness to James appeared in 
every word. 

"Then," he continued, " what is better than all, 
you can do a great deal of good by teaching school. 
You will not only find it the best way to help your- 
self, but you will find it the best way to help others ; 
and that is the highest of all considerations. We 
don't live for ourselves in this world, or ought not 



AFTER VACATION. 



251 



to live for ourselves alone. That is too selfish and 
contemptible to be tolerated." 

" Do you think I can obtain a school, without 
any doubt?" inquired James. 

ff Unquestionably," answered Mr. Branch. "Teach- 
ers are more numerous than they were ten years ago, 
and so it is with schools. More than that, I think 
you will succeed in the business. Every one will 
not be successful in the calling." 

'Why do you think I shall succeed?" asked 
James, who was curious to understand what partic- 
ular qualities would win in the school-house. 

* You will be well qualified ; that is one thing. 
You possess ability to express your thoughts readily ; 
that is very important for a teacher. Your mind is 
discriminating and sharp, to analyze and see the 
reason of things ; that is also an indispensable quali- 
fication for a successful teacher. You will govern 
a school well, I think, without much trouble. A 
young man who is popular with associates in study 
usually makes a good teacher." This was the hon- 
est reply of the principal to the last inquiry of James ; 
all of which was a substantial encouragement to the 
latter. He began to look forward to the new occu- 
pation with much pleasure. 

One incident occurred at this term of school, relat- 
ing to its discipline, in which James played a conspic- 
uous part. At that time there were about as many 
rogues in a school of one hundred pupils as there 
are to-day. Human nature averaged about as it 
does now among pupils. There was the same need 



252 LOG-CABIN 70 WHITE HOUSE. 

of wise government and watchfulness, on the part of 
the principal, to maintain order. In this respect, 
the principal was well qualified for his position ; 
and roguish pupils could not rebel against his gov- 
ernment with impunity. This was quite well un- 
derstood; and still there were occasional scrapes, 
in which a class of pupils engaged as the best way, 
in their estimation, to dispose of a surplus fund of 
animal spirits. 

A youth of considerable pertness insulted one of 
the town's people, and it came to the ear of the prin- 
cipal. Indeed, the citizen entered a complaint 
against the pupil, rehearsing the facts to Mr. 
Branch. The credit of the school, and the credit 
of the principal himself, demanded that he should 
take notice of the matter, rebuke the act, and lec- 
ture the whole school, that there might not be a 
repetition of the act. 

As often happens in large schools, the pupils took 
sides with the author of the naughty deed. The 
sympathies of young people, especially in school, 
unite them together as by strong cords. Without 
regard to the merits of the case, they decide for the 
accused party, and sustain him. 

" If Bell goes, I go," exclaimed one of the boys, 
meaning, that if the principal expelled Bell, he 
would be one to leave the school, also. The fact 
shows that feeling played a more prominent part in 
the affair than judgment. 

" And I'll be another to go," answered a smart 
young fellow; that is, smart in his own estimation. 



AFTER VACATION. 253 

" Will you take me along with you ? " asked a 
third, who was more disposed to show humor than 
passion. " I'll add one to the company." 

"Me, too!" exclaimed a fourth. "Put me down 
for that scrape. A great many folks think that 
school-boys have no rights." 

In this way the subject was discussed among a 
class of the boys, and even some girls signified a 
willingness to express their indignation in some such 
way as that proposed. It was claimed that as many 
as " twenty " pupils would quit school if Bell was 
expelled. But when, at last, they came around to 
James with their proposition, they met with a serious 
embarrassment. 

* Why should I leave the school because another 
fellow is sent away?" answered James. "Can you 
tell me?" 

Of course they could not give a reason why he 
should. One boy did venture to reply, 

"We want to show our indignation." 

" Indignation about what? " asked James. 

" At sending Bell away." 

"But he is not sent away yet, and he may not be." 

"Well, I don't believe in treating a fellow so." 

" How? " persisted James. 

" Why, call a fellow up, and make such a touse 
over his way of speaking to a man." 

" How did he speak?" 

"The citizen claims that he insulted him. But 
that's not the thing for us boys to look at ; we ought 
to stand by our fellows." 



254 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



"Stand by them, right or wrong?" inquired 
James. 

"Yes, if necessary." 

"Well, I shall not," answered James, emphatically. 
" If one of our fellows gets into a scrape I will not 
help him out unless it can be done honorably.; you 
can depend on that." 

"I think it is mean," continued the boy, " for a 
citizen to complain of a scholar just because he did 
not use his tongue quite right." 

" I don't agree with you," answered James ; "Bell 
ought to use his tongue as well as he does his hands, 
for all that I can see ; and if it gets him into trouble, 
he has no one to blame except himself." 

" That may all be true," added Bell's persistent 
friend ; " but if he gets into trouble thoughtlessly, I 
am willing to help him out." 

"So am I," quickly responded James, "provided 
he is sorry, and is willing to be helped out of it in a 
proper way." 

" I suppose by that, you have not a good opinion 
of our method of helping him?" 

" No, I have not. If Bell will apologize to the 
citizen, and signify to Mr. Branch that he is sorry, 
and will not repeat the insult, I will be among the 
first to intercede for him ; but he must help himself 
before I am willing to help him." 

This ended the proposed rebellion in school. Bell 
did make all suitable amends for his misconduct, 
and remained in the school. The incident illustrates 
a prominent trait of character in James thus far 



AFTER VACATION. 255 



through his life. He had an opinion of his own, and 
maintained it, in his youth, as he has done in later 
life. He would not knowingly defend even a school- 
companion in wrong-doing. He repudiated the so- 
called "code of honor" in schools, requiring boys to 
support each other, whether right or wrong. 

The fall term was a very profitable one to James. 
His scholarship became fully established. He led 
the school in talents and progress. He paid all his 
bills, also, by his daily labor in the carpenter's shop, 
and had several dollars left for pocket-money at the 
close of the term. 




XVII. 




KEEPING SCHOOL. 

HE next day after James reached home, at 
the close of the term, he started out to 
find a situation as teacher. 

"When will you return?" inquired his 
mother. 

"When I get a school. Somehow I feel as if it 
would be a hard matter to get a school." 

" I hope not, my son," answered his mother, re- 
joicing in her heart that James was going to be a 
teacher, and not a sailor. 

" / hope not," responded James ; " but I don't 
seem to feel as elated over the prospect as I did 
once. I shall do my best, however, and I may be 
gone several days." 

James took the most favorable route, on foot, and 
made his first application about ten miles from 
home. 

"You are too young," replied the committee to his 
application ; " we don't want a boy to teach our 

school." 

256 



KEEPING SCHOOL. 



257 



* I have a recommendation from Mr. Branch, 
Principal of the Geauga Seminary ; " and he pro- 
ceeded to exhibit his testimonials. 

"No matter about that," replied the committee- 
man. "No doubt you know enough, but you can't 
make yourself any older than you be ; that's the 
trouble. We've had boys enough keep our school." 

This was quite a damper upon the ardor of James ; 
and he left the man, and continued his journey, re- 
flecting upon the value of age to pedagogues. 

The next school district that he reached had en- 
gaged a teacher. 

"If you had come a week ago, I'd hired yer," the 
man said. 

It was encouraging to James that he had found a 
district where age was not an absolute requirement. 
He thought better of youth now. 

"Possibly in the Norton District they've not a 
teacher yet," the man added. 

"Where's that?" inquired James. 

"About three miles north of here," pointing with 
his finger. " Go to Mr. Nelson ; he's the man you 
want ter see. He'll hire yer, if he's no teacher." 

James posted away to the Norton District, and 
found Mr. Nelson, just about dark. 

"Just found a teacher, young man, and hired 
him," Mr. Nelson said. " Can't very well hire an- 
other." 

" Of course not," answered James ; " and perhaps 
the one you hired needs the chance as much as I do." 

"Perhaps so ; he's trying to get an education." 

17 



258 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

"So am I," responded James. 

"Where?" 

"At Geauga Seminary." 

"Ah! we had a teacher from that seminary two 
years ago, and he was as good a teacher as we ever 
had." 

"That is fortunate for me," remarked James, 
pleasantly. " If he had not proved a good teacher 
you would not want another from that institution." 

"Very like," replied Mr. Nelson. "But come, 
you can't look after any more schools to-night ; it is 
getting dark. Come in, and stop over night with us." 

James accepted the cordial invitation, stopped 
with the family over night, and, on the following 
day, continued his school-hunting trip. But he did 
not find a school. He met with one committee-man 
who declined to hire him because "We had one 
feller from Gaga Siminary, and he made sich a 
botch of it that we don't want another." 

After two days of hard work in the vain search 
for a school, James reached home more thoroughly 
discouraged than his mother ever knew him to be 
before. 

" It is impossible to find a school ; most of them 
have teachers engaged," said James. And he gave 
a full account of his travels and disappointments. 

" Perhaps the Lord has something better for you 
in store, James," answered his mother. "It is not 
best for you to be discouraged, after you have over- 
come so many obstacles." 

James did not tell his mother that if the Lord had 



KEEPING SCHOOL. 2 $9 



anything better in store for him he would be obliged 
if he would make it known ; but he thought so. 

* You are tired enough to go to bed," added his 
mother ; " and to-morrow you can talk with your 
Uncle Amos about it." 

Uncle Amos was their counsellor in all times of 
trial ; and James accepted the suggestion as a kind 
of solace, and retired. 

The next morning, before he was up, he heard a 
man call to his mother from the road. 

"Widow Garfield!" 

She responded by going to the door. 

:' Where's your boy, Jim ! " 

" He is at home. He is not up yet," Mrs. Garfield 
replied, a little curious to know what he wanted of 
James so early in the morning. 

"I wonder if he'd like to keep our school at the 
Ledge this winter," the man continued. 

James bounded out of bed at the sound of the word 
school, beginning to think that Providence had sent 
an angel, in the shape of a man, to bring the " some- 
thing better," which his mother told about. He stood 
face to face with the man in an incredibly brief pe- 
riod. The caller was a well-known neighbor, living 
only a mile away, and the school for which he wanted 
a teacher was not much further than that. 

" How is it, Jim ; will you keep our school at the 
Ledge this winter?" he inquired. 

"I want a school," was James' indirect reply. He 
knew the character of the school, — that it was 
rough and boisterous, — and he hesitated. 



260 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" Reg'lar set of barbarians, you know, Jim, down 
there," the man continued. 

"Yes; I know it is a hard school to teach. Do 
you think I can manage it? All the scholars know 
me." This reply of James showed what thoughts 
were passing through his mind. The committee- 
man replied : 

r They all know you, of course, and they know 
that you can lick the whole of them without any 
trouble, if you set about it; and you are just the 
chap to run the school. The boys have driven out 
the master for two winters now ; and I want some- 
body to control the school this winter, if he don't do 
a thing but stand over them with a cane. A thrash- 
ing all round would do them an immense amount of 
good. Now, what do you say? Give you twelve 
dollars a month and board." 

This portrayal of the character of the school 
rather discouraged James than otherwise ; but his 
mother spoke, by way of helping him out of the 
difficulty : 

" This is an unexpected call to James, and he bet- 
ter consider it to-day, and let you know his decision 
to-night." 

" I will do that," said James. 

f That will answer ; but I hope you won't fail me," 
the man responded, and drove off. 

" Go over and consult your uncle Amos after 
breakfast," advised his mother. " It is a very diffi- 
cult school to undertake for the first one." 

" I should prefer to teach among strangers, at least 



KEEPING SCHOOL. 2 6l 

my first school," responded James. " Do you think 
this is the 'something better' Providence had in 
store for me? " 

"Perhaps so. If you should be successful in this 
school, your reputation as a teacher would be estab- 
lished ; you would have no more trouble in finding 
schools to keep." 

" I see that ; and still, if I had a chance to take a 
school among strangers I should decline this one," 
said James. 

" Perhaps that is the very reason you did not find 
a school. Providence means you shall take this 
one. I really think, James, that this is the correct 
view of the case." 

James could not suppress a laugh over this turn 
of affairs ; nor could he fail to respect his mother's 
moral philosophy. He really began to think that 
Providence was forcing him to take this school, and 
he mentally decided to take it before he saw Uncle 
Amos. 

r Tough school," remarked Uncle Amos, when 
James sought his advice. r Those rough fellows 
have had their way so long in school that it will be 
a hard matter to bring them into subjection. How 
do you feel about it yourself ? " 

" I would prefer to teach where the scholars are 
not acquainted with me," replied James. 

" That mi({ht make a difference with some teach- 
ers, James ; but the boys have nothing against you. 
Perhaps they will behave better because they know 



262 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

you so well. I think they respect you, and that will 
be a great help." 

' Then you think I had better teach the school?" 
remarked James, understanding the drift of his un- 
cle's remarks to mean that. 

" On the whole, I am inclined to think you had 
better teach the school." 

" If I had an opportunity to teach a better school, 
you would not advise me to take the one at the 
Ledge : I understand you to mean this." 

"About that," his uncle answered. Pausing a few 
moments, as if to reflect upon the matter, he con- 
tinued : 

"It is just here, James ; you will begin that school 
as f Jim Garfield ; ' now, if you can leave it, at the 
close of the term, as Mr. Garfield, your reputation 
as a teacher will be established, and you will do 
more good than you can in any other school in 
Ohio." 

Uncle Amos was a very wise man, and James 
knew it. His opinion upon all subjects was a kind 
of rule to be followed in the Garfield family. In this 
case his counsel was wise as possible ; its wisdom 
appeared in every word. 

"I shall take the school," said James decidedly, 
as he rose to go. 

" I think it will prove the best decision," added 
his uncle. 

The committee-man was notified according to 
agreement, and within two days it was noised over 
the district that "Jim Garfield " would teach the 



KEEPING SCHOOL. 



263 



winter school. At first, remarks were freely bandied 
about, pro and con, and the boys, and girls too, ex- 
pressed themselves very decidedly upon the subject, 
one way or the other. Before school commenced, 
however, the general opinion of the district, parents 
and pupils, was about as one of the large boys ex- 
pressed it : 

" Me like Jim : he's a good feller, and he knows 
more'n all the teachers we ever had. I guess we 
better mind. He can lick us easy 'nuf if we don't; 
and he'll do it." 

This hopeful school-boy understood that the com- 
mittee-man had instructed James to keep order and 
command obedience, "if he had to lick every scholar 
in school a dozen times over." 

It was under these circumstances that James en- 
tered upon his new vocation. He dreaded the under- 
taking far more than he confessed; and when he 
left home, on the morning his school began, he re- 
marked to his mother : 

" Perhaps I shall be back before noon, through 
with school-keeping," signifying that the boys might 
run over him in the outset. 

"I expect that you will succeed, and be the most 
popular teacher in town," was his mother's encour- 
aging reply. She saw that James needed some 
bracing up in the trying circumstances. 

James had determined in his own mind to run the 
school without resorting to the use of rod or ferule, 
if possible. He meant that his government should 
be firm, but kind and considerate. He was wise 



264 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



enough to open his labor on the first morning with- 
out laying down a string of rigid rules. He simply 
assured the pupils he was there to aid them in their 
studies, that they might make rapid progress ; that 
all of them were old enough to appreciate the pur- 
pose and advantages of the school, and he should 
expect their cordial co-operation. He should do the 
best that he could to have an excellent school, and 
if the scholars would do the same, both teacher and 
pupils would have a good time, and the best school 
in town. 

Many older heads than he have displayed less 
wisdom in taking charge of a difficult school. His 
method appeared to be exactly adapted to the cir- 
cumstances under which he assumed charge. He 
was on good terms with the larger boys before, but 
now those harmonious relations were confirmed. 

We must use space only to sum up the work of 
the winter. The bad boys voluntarily yielded to the 
teacher's authority, and behaved creditably to them- 
selves, and satisfactorily to their teacher. There 
was no attempt to override the government of the, 
school, and former rowdyism, that had been the bane 
of the school, disappeared. The pupils bent their 
energies to study, as if for the first time they under- 
stood what going to school meant. James interested 
the larger scholars in spelling-matches, in which all 
found much enjoyment as well as profit. He joined 
in the games and sports of the boys at noon, his 
presence proving a restraint upon the disposition of 
some to be vulgar and profane. He was perfectly 



KEEPING SCHOOL. 



265 



familiar with his scholars, and yet he was so correct 
and dignified in his ways that the wildest boy could 
but respect him. 

James "boarded around," as was the universal 
custom ; and this brought him into every family in 
the course of the winter. Here he enjoyed an addi- 
tional opportunity to influence his pupils. He took 
special pains to aid them in their studies, and to 
make the evenings entertaining to the members of 
the families. He read aloud to them, rehearsed his- 
tory, told stories, availing himself of his quite exten- 
sive reading to furnish material. In this way he 
gained a firm hold both of the parents and their 
children. 

His Sabbaths were spent at home with his mother 
during the winter. The Disciples' meeting had be- 
come a fixed institution, so that he attended divine 
worship every Sabbath. A preacher was officiating 
at the time in whom James became particularly in- 
terested. He was a very earnest preacher, a devout 
Christian, and a man of strong native abilities. He 
possessed a tact for " putting things," as men call it, 
and made his points sharply and forcibly. He was 
just suited to interest a youth like James, and his 
preaching made a deep impression upon him. From 
week to w r eek that impression deepened, until he 
resolved to become a Christian at once ; and he did. 
Before the close of his school he gave good evidence 
that he had become a true child of God. And now 
his mother's cup of joy was overflowing. She saw 
distinctly the way in which God had led him, and 



266 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

her gratitude was unbounded. James saw, too, how 
it was that his mother's prophecy was fulfilled : 
" Providence has something better in store for 
you." 

The verdict of parents and pupils at the close of 
the term was, "The best teacher we ever had." 
So James parted with his scholars, sharing their 
confidence and esteem ; and his uncle Amos was 
satisfied, because he left the school as Mr. Gar- 
pie ld. 

He returned to Geauga Seminary, not to board 
himself, but to board with Mr. Wood worth, the car- 
penter, according to previous arrangement. Mr. 
Woodworth boarded him for $1.06 per week, includ- 
ing his washing, and took his pay in labor. It was 
an excellent opportunity for James, as well as for the 
carpenter. His chief labor in the shop was planing 
boards. On the first Saturday after his return he 
planed fifty-one boards, at two cents apiece ; thus 
earning on that day one dollar and two cents, nearly 
enough to pay a week's board. 

We shall pass over the details of his school'ng 
.that year, to his school-keeping at Warrensville the 
following w r inter, where he was paid sixteen dollars 
a month and board. It was a larger and more ad- 
vanced school than the one of the previous winter, 
in a pleasanter neighborhood, and a more conven- 
ient school-house. We shall stop to relate but two 
incidents connected with his winter's work, except to 
say that his success was complete. 

One of the more advanced scholars wanted to 



KEEPING SCHOOL. 



267 



study Geometry, and James had given no attention 
to it. He did not wish to let the scholar know that 
he had never studied it, for he knew full well that 
h*e could keep in advance of his pupil, and teach 
him as he desired. So he purchased a text-book, 
studied Geometry at night, sometimes extending his 
studies , far into the night, and carried his pupil 
through, without the latter dreaming that his teacher 
was not an expert in the science. James considered 
this as clear gain ; for he would not have mastered 
Geometry that winter but for this necessity laid 
upon him. It left him more time in school for other 
studies. 

This fact is a good illustration of what James has 
said since he was in public life, viz. : "A }'Oung 
man should be equal to more than the task before 
him ; he should possess reserved power." He had 
not pursued Geometry, but he was equal to it in the 
emergency. His reserved force carried him tri- 
umphantly over a hard place. 

One day he fell when engaged in out-door sports 
with his big boys, the result of which was a large 
rent in his pantaloons. They were well-worn, and 
so thin that it did not require much of a pressure to 
push one of his knees through them. He pinned 
up the rent as well as he could, and went to his 
boarding-place, after school, with a countenance 
looking almost as forlorn as his trousers. He was 
boarding with a Mrs. Stiles at the time, a motherly 
kind of a woman, possessing considerable sharpness 
of intellect. 



268 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



"See what a plight I am in, Mrs. Stiles," show- 
ing the rent in his pants. 

"I see; how did you do that?" said Mrs. Stiles. 

"Blundering about, as usual," James replied. "I 
hardly know what I shall do." 

f What ! so scared at a rent," the good lady ex- 
claimed ; "that's nothing." 

" It is a good deal, when it is all the pantaloons 
a fellow has," answered James. "This is all the 
suit I possess in the world, poor as it is." 

" It is good enough, and there's enough of it as 
long as it lasts," replied the good woman ; "make 
the best of things." 

" I think I could make the best of an extra suit," 
responded James; "but this making the best of a 
single suit, and a flimsy one at that, is asking too 
much." He said this humorously. 

"Well," continued Mrs. Stiles, "I can darn that 
rent so that it will be just as good as new, if not 
better. That's easy enough done." 

" On me? " asked James, in his innocence. 

" Mercy, no ! When you go to bed one of the 
boys will bring down your trousers, and I'll mend 
them. In the morning no one will know that vou 
met with such an accident. You mustn't let such 
small matters trouble you. You'll forget all about 
them when you become President." 

James' wardrobe was not much more elaborate at 
this time than it was when he began attending school 
at Chester. He had no over-coat nor under-cloth- 



KEEPING SCHOOL. 



269 



ing, preferring to expose his body to the cold rather 
than rob his mind of knowledge. 

At the close of his school in Warrensville James 
returned home, where an unexpected change in his 
programme awaited him. 





XVIII. 

THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 

AMES spent three years at Geauga Semi- 
nary, including school-keeping in winter. 
It was durincr his last term there that he 
met a young man who was a graduate of 
a New England college. James had never thought 
of extending his education so far as a college course. 
He scarcely thought it was possible, in his extreme 
poverty, to do it. 

"You can do it," said the graduate. "Several 
students did it when I was in college. I did it, in 
part, myself." 

" How could I do it? " inquired James. 

" In the first place," answered the graduate, "there 
is a fund in most of the New England colleges, per- 
haps in all of them, the income of which goes to 
aid indigent students. It is small, to be sure, but 
then every little helps when one is in a tight place. 
Then there is a great call for school-teachers in 
the winter, and college students are sought after." 

" How much is the annual expense, to an econom- 
ical student?" asked James. 270 



THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 27 1 

ff It varies somewhat in different colleges, though 
two hundred dollars a year, not including apparel, 
could be made to cover the running yearly ex- 
penses, I think. A young man would be obliged to 
be very saving in order to do it." 

" I am used to that," added James. " They say 
that 'necessity is the mother of invention,' and I 
have invented a good many ways of living cheaply." 

" I have known students to obtain jobs of work in 
term time, — those who know how to do certain 
work," — continued the graduate. "I knew a stu- 
dent who took care of a man's garden two summers, 
for which he received liberal pay. I knew one who 
taught a gentleman's son in the place an hour or so 
every day, for which he was paid well. The boy 
was in delicate health, not able to enter a school for 
hard study. I have known students to get jobs of 
the faculty, about the college buildings. I knew 
one student who sawed wood for his fellow r -students 
in the fall and winter terms, and he was one of the 
best scholars in his class. He was very popular, 
too, and was honored for his perseverance in ac- 
quiring an education. I think that he must have 
paid half of his bills by sawing w^ood." 

James began to see further than he did. In his 
imagination he began to picture a college building 
at the end of his career. It was further off than he 
had intended to go in the way of study, but the way 
before him seemed to open up to it. What he sup- 
, posed was impossible now appeared among possi- 
bilities. 



272 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

"What is the shortest time that it would require 
me to prepare and get through college?" James 
asked further. 

"The necessary time is four years in preparation, 
and four years in college,*' the graduate answered. 
" Some students shorten the preparatory course, and 
enter college one year in advance." 

''/should have to lengthen it in order to earn the 
money to pay my way," responded James. "" I would 
be willing to undertake it, if I could get through 
in twelve years, and pay all my bills." 

" You can get through in less time than that, I 
know. I forgot to tell you that students sometimes 
enter college with money enough to carry them 
through the first two years ; then they stay out a 
year and teach an academy or high school, for 
which they receive sufficient remuneration to carry 
them through the remainder of the course. It is a 
better plan, I think, than to teach a district school 
each winter; it don't interfere so much with the 
studies of the college, and it is easier for the student. 
Then I have known several students who borrowed 
the money of friends to pay their bills, relying upon 
teaching, after getting through college, to liquidate 
the debt. By waiting until their college course was 
completed they obtained a more eligible situation, at 
a higher salary, than would have been possible 
before." 

" Well, I have no friends having money to loan," 
remarked James. " I shall have to content myself 
with working my own way by earning all my money 



THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 2;3 



as I go along; and I am" willing to do it. I had 
never thought it possible for me to go to college ; 
but now I believe that I shall trv it." 

"I hope you will," answered the graduate, who 
had learned of James' ability, and who had seen 
enough of him to form a high opinion of his talents. 
f You will never regret the step, I am sure. You 
get something in a college education that you can 
never lose, and it will always be a passport into the 
best society." 

From that time James was fully decided to take a 
college course, or, at least, to try for it; and he im- 
mediately added Latin and Greek to his studies. 

During the last year of his connection with Geauga 
Seminary James united with the Disciples' church 
in Orange. He took the step after much reflection, 
and he took it for greater usefulness. At once he 
became an active, working Christian, in Chester. 
He spoke and prayed in meeting ; he urged the 
subject of religion upon the attention of his compan- 
ions, privately as well as publicly ; he seconded 
the religious efforts of the principal, and assisted 
him essentially in the conduct of religious meetings. 
In short, the same earnest spirit pervaded his Chris- 
tian life that had distinguished his secular career. 

In religious meetings his simple, earnest appeals, 
eloquently expressed, attracted universal attention. 
There was a naturalness and fervor in his addresses 
that held an audience remarkably. Many attended 
meetings to hear him speak, and for no other reason. 
His pow r er as a public speaker began to show itself 
18 



274 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

unmistakably at that time. No doubt his youthful 
appearance lent a charm to his words. 

" He is a born preacher," remarked Mr. Branch to 
one of the faculty, " and he will make his mark in 
that profession." 

" One secret of his power is, that he is wholly un- 
conscious of it," answered the member of the faculty 
addressed. " It seems to me he is the most eminent 
example of that I ever knew. He appears to lose 
all thought of himself in the subject before him. He 
is not a bold young man at all ; he is modest as any 
student in the academy, and yet, in speaking, he 
seems to be so absorbed in his theme that fear is 
banished. He will make a power in the pulpit, if 
present appearances foreshadow the future." 

" It cannot be otherwise," responded Mr. Branch, 
" if cause and effect follow each other. He develops 
very rapidly indeed. I wish it were possible for 
him to have a college education." 

All seemed to take it for granted that James would 
be a preacher, although he had not signified to any 
one that he intended to be. He had given no thought 
to that particular subject. He was too much ab- 
sorbed in his studies, too much in love with them, to 
settle that question. But his interest in religious 
things, and his ability as a speaker, alone led them 
to this conclusion. The same feeling existed among 
the pupils. 

"Jim will be a minister now," remarked one of his 
companions to Henry. 

"Perhaps so," was Henry's only reply. 



THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 



275 



" He will make a good one, sure," chimed in a 
third. "By the time he gets into the pulpit, he will 
astonish the natives." 

? That will be ten years from now," said the first 
speaker. 

" Not so long as that," rejoined Henry. " Five or 
six years is long enough." 

w He won't wear trousers of Kentucky jean, then," 
added the second speaker, in a jocose manner. 

'* He won't care whether he does or not," remarked 
Henry. " He would wear Kentucky jean just as 
quick as broadcloth ; such things are wholly unim- 
portant in his estimation." 

So the matter of his becoming a preacher was dis- 
cussed, all appearing to think that he was destined 
to become a pulpit orator. Doubtless some thought 
it was the only profession he would be qualified to 
fill. 

During the summer vacation of his last year at 
Geauga Seminary, in connection with a schoolmate, 
he sought work among; the farmers in the vicinity. 
He found no difficulty in securing jobs to suit his 
most sanguine expectations. An amusing incident 
occurred with one of the farmers, to whom he ap- 
plied for work. 

"What do y6u know about work?" inquired the 
farmer, surveying them from head to foot, and seem- 
ing to question their fitness for his farm. 

w We have worked at farming," answered James, 
modestly. 

" Can you mow?" 



276 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE, 

"Yes, sir." 

" Can you mow well ? " emphasizing the last 
word. 

"You can tell by trying us," answered James, not 
wishing to praise his own ability at labor. 

"What wages do you want? " 

"Just what you think is right." 

" Well, that is fair ; where did you come from? " 

James enlightened him on this subject, and in- 
formed him, also, that they were trying to get an 
education. 

"You are plucky boys," the farmer added; "I 
think you may go to work." 

He conducted them to the hay-field, where they 
were provided with scythes, remarking to the three 
men already mowing, " Here are two boys who will 
help you." 

James exchanged glances with his companion, 
and the initiated might have discovered in their 
mutual smiles an inkling of what was coming. 
Their glances at each other said, as plainly as 
words, " Let us beat these fellows, though we are 
boys" James thought that the farmer emphasized 
the word boys more than was justifiable. 

The boys had mowed an hour, the farmer being 
an interested witness, when the latter cried out to 
the three men, 

" See here, you lubbers ; those boys are beatin' 
you all holler. Their swaths are wider, and they 
mow better than you do. You ought to be ashamed 
of yourselves." 



THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 2 77 



The men made no reply, but bent their energies 
to work more resolutely. The boys, too, were 
silent, although they enjoyed the praise of their em- 
ployer very much. They comprehended the situa- 
tion fully, and their labors were pushed accordingly. 
One day, while at work with the men, one of them 
said to James : 

f Yer are school-boys, I understand." 

T Yes, we are," answered James. 

" Where'd yer larn to farm it? " 

"At home, and all about. We've had to earn our 
living," was the reply of James. 

f Yer are no worse for that ; it won't damage your 
larnin'." 

" I expect not ; I should say good-bye to the 
scythe if I thought so," replied James. " If there 
had been no work, there would have been no edu- 
cation for me." 

" What yer goin' to make — a preacher? " 

"That is an unsolved problem," answered James, 
in a playful way. " I have undertaken to make a 
man of myself first. If I succeed I may make some- 
thing else afterwards ; if I don't succeed, I shall not 
be fit for much, any way." 

'* Yer in a fair way to succeed, I guess," responded 
the laborer, who seemed to have the idea, in com- 
mon with other people, that James was aiming to be 
a minister. 

When the day of settlement with the boys came, 
the farmer said : 

" Now, boys, what must I pay you? " 



278 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" What you think is right," replied James, at the 
same time thinking that the farmer's emphasis of the 
word boys indicated boys' pay. 

" I s'pose you don't expect men's wages ; you are 
only boys." 

" If boys do men's work, what's the difference?" 

" Well, you see, boys never have so much as men : 
there's a price for boys, and there's a price for men. 
Some boys will do more work than others, but the 
best of them only have boys' pay." 

" But you told the men that we mowed wider 
swaths, and mowed better than the}', and beat them. 
Now, admit that we are boys, if we have done men's 
work, why should we not have their pay? I told 
you at first to pay us what was right, and I say so 
now; and if we have worked as well as your men, 
or better, is it not right that we should have their 
pay?" 

James' plea was a strong one, and the farmer felt 
its force. There was but one honorable course out 
of the difficulty, and that was to pay the boys just 
what he did the men. 

"Well, boys, I can't in justice deny that you did 
as much work as the men," he said, " and so Til pay 
3 t ou men's wages ; but you are the first bo}'S I ever 
paid such wages to." 

tf I hope we are not the last ones," added James, 
who was never in a strait for a reply. 

The farmer paid them full wages, and parted with 
them in good feeling, wishing them success in their 
struggles for an education, and saying to James : 



THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 



279 



" If, one of these days, you preach as well as you 
mow, I shall want to hear you." 

When they left the farmer, James remarked to his 
companion : 

" Everybody seems to think that I am going to be 
a preacher ; why is it?" He was so unconscious of 
his abilities for that profession that he was actually 
puzzled to know why it was. 

rf I suppose it is because they think you are better 
qualified for that than any other calling," his com- 
panion replied. " I never heard you say what pro- 
fession you should choose." 

" No, I don't think you have ; nor any one else. 
When the time comes I shall choose for the best. I 
should like to be a preacher, and I should like to be 
a teacher. I don't know but I should like to be a 
lawyer. I shouldn't want to be a doctor." 

James stated the matter here just about as it was 
at that time. He was going to make the most of 
himself possible, in the first place, — a very sensible 
idea for a youth, — and then devote himself to the 
manifest line of duty. 

At this time the anti-slavery contest ran high 
throughout the countrv. In Ohio its friends were 
as zealous and fearless as they were anywhere in 
the country. The question of the abolition of slav- 
ery was discussed, not only in pulpits and on public 
rostrums, but in village and school lyceums. It was 
discussed in the Debating Society of the Seminary. 
" Ought Slavery to be abolished in this Re- 
public ?" This was a question that drew out James 



280 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



in one of his best efforts. From the time his atten- 
tion was drawn to the subject, he was a thorough 
hater of slavery. It w r as such a monstrous wrong 
that he had no patience with it. 

"A disgrace to the nation," he said. "People 
fighting to be free, and then reducing others to a 
worse slavery than that which they fought ! It is a 
burning shame ! " 

"The founders of the government didn't think so," 
answered the schoolmate addressed. "If they had 
thought so, they would have made no provision 

f-T it." 

" So much more the shame," replied James. "The 
very men who fought to break the British yoke of 
bondage legalized a worse bondage to others ! That 
is what makes my blood boil. I can't understand 
how men of intelligence and honor could do what is 
so inconsistent and inhuman." 

" Slavery wouldn't stand much of a show where 
you are, I judge," added his schoolmate. "You 
would sweep it away without discussing the question 
whether immediate emancipation is safe or not." 

"Safe!" exclaimed James, in a tone of supreme 
contempt; "it is always safe to do right, and it is 
never safe to do wrong, especially to perpetrate such 
a monstrous wrong as to buy and sell men." 

It was this inborn and inbred hostility to human 
bondage that James carried into the discussion of 
the question named, in their school lyceum. He 
prepared himself for the debate with more than usual 
carefulness. He read whatever he could find upon 



THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 2 g 1 



the subject, and he taxed his active brain to the ut- 
most in forging arguments against the crime. 

Companions and friends had been surprised and 
interested before by his ability in debate ; but on this 
occasion he discussed his favorite theme with larger 
freedom and more eloquence than ever. There was 
a manly and exhaustive treatment of the question, 
such as he had not evinced before. It enlisted his 
sympathies and honest convictions as no previous 
question had done ; so that his fervor and energy 
were greater than ever, holding the audience in rapt 
and delighted attention. 

Commenting upon his effort afterwards, one of 
his schoolmates said to a number of his companions 
present : 

rt We'll send Jim to Congress one of these days." 
James was present, and the remark was intended 
both for sport and praise. 

rf I don't want you should send me until I have 
graduated at Geauga Academy," retorted James, 
disposed to treat the matter playfully. 

" We'll let you do that ; but we can begin the cam- 
paign now, and set the wires for pulling by and by," 
replied the first speaker. " I'll stump the District for 
you, Jim, and charge only my expenses." 

"And who will you charge your expenses to?" 
inquired James. 

f To the candidate, of course, Hon. James A. 
Garfield," the schoolmate answered, with a laugh, 
in which the whole company joined, not excepting 
James. The incident illustrates the place that James 



282 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

held in the opinions of his school-fellows. Not 
the immature opinions of partial friends, but the 
well-considered and honest estimate of faculty and 
pupils. 

In the fall term of that year there came to the 
school a young lady by the name of Lucretia Ru- 
dolph, a modest, unpretentious, talented girl. James 
soon discovered that she was a young lady of unu- 
sual worth and intellectual ability. He was not much 
inclined to the company of school-girls ; he was too 
bashful to make much of a display in that line. He 
was not very companionable in their society, for he 
was not at home there. But he was unconsciously 
drawn to this new and pretty pupil, Miss Lucretia 
Rudolph. First, her modest, lady-like demeanor 
attracted his attention. There was a grace in her 
movements, and evidence of intellectual strength in 
her conversation. Her recitations were perfect, show- 
ing industry and scholarship. These things impressed 
James sensibly. No female student had attracted his 
attention at all before. Nor was there any such 
thing as falling in love with her on his part. He 
regarded her with more favor than he had ever re- 
garded a young lady in school ; and it was her 
worth and scholarship that drew him. They were 
intimate, mutually polite, helpers of each other in 
study, real friends in all the relations of school- 
mates. Further than that, neither of them had 
thoughts about each other. They associated to- 
gether, and parted at the close of the term with no 
expectation, perhaps, of renewing their acquaintance 



THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 283 

again. We speak of the matter here, because the 
two will meet again elsewhere. 

James made rapid progress in Latin after he de- 
cided to go to college. It was the study that oc- 
cupied his odd moments especially. Ever} r spare 
hour that he could snatch was devoted to this. The 
following winter he taught school, and Latin re- 
ceived much of his attention in evening hours. He 
enjoyed the study of it, and, at the same time, was 
stimulated by the consideration that it was required 
in a college course of study. 

Late in the autumn James met with a young man 
who was connected with the Eclectic Institute, a new 
institution just established in Hiram, Portage Count}^, 
Ohio. James knew that such an institution had been 
opened, and that was all ; of its scope and character 
he was ignorant. 

" You can fit for college there," he said to James ; 
K there is no better place in the country for that busi- 
ness. The school opened with over one hundred 
scholars, and the number is rapidly increasing." 

"Any fitting for college there now?" James in- 
quired. 

"Yes, several; lam one of them." 

" How far along are you ? " 

" Only just begun. I have to work my own way, 
so that it will be slow." 

" That is the case with me. So far I have had 
but eleven dollars from my friends, and I have more 
than returned that amount to them." 

"A fellow can do it if he only has grit enough." 



284 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

"How expensive is the school?" continued James. 

"Not more expensive than Geauga Seminary. It 
is designed to give a chance to the poorest boy or 
girl to get an academical education. Besides, it is 
conducted under the auspices of the Disciples, and 
the teachers belong to that sect." 

" I belong to the Disciples' church," said James. 

" So do I. That would not take me there, how- 
ever, if it was not a good school. I think it is one 
of the best schools to be found." 

'The teachers are well qualified, are they?" 

:f They are the very best of teachers ; no better in 
any school." 

" I am glad that you have called my attention to 
the school," added James ; "I think I shall go there 
next year." 

Here was the second casual meeting with a per- 
son, in a single term, that had much to do with the 
future career of James. His mother would have 
called it Providential : James would call it so now. 
Meeting with one of them led to his decision to go to 
college ; meeting with the other carried him to the 
Hiram Eclectic Institute. 

James closed his connection with the Geauga Sem- 
inary at the expiration of the fall term, leaving it 
with a reputation for scholarship and character of 
which the institution was justly proud. As we have 
said, he taught school during the following winter. 
It was at Warrensville, where he had taught before. 
He received eighteen dollars a month, and board, 
with the esteem and gratitude of his patrons. 



THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 



285 



We should not pass over the oration that James 
delivered at the annual exhibition of Geauga Sem- 
inary, in November, 1850. It was his last task per- 
formed at the institution, and the first oration of his 
literary life. The part assigned to him was honor- 
ary ; and he spent all the time he could spare, 
amid other pressing duties, upon the production. 
He was to quit the institution, and he would not con- 
ceal his desire to close his course of study there with 
his best effort. He kept a diary at the time, and his 
diary discloses the anxiety with which he undertook 
the preparation of that oration, and the thorough 
application with which he accomplished his pur- 
pose. Neither ambition nor vanity can be discov- 
ered, in the least degree, in his diary ; that was writ- 
ten for no eyes but his own. His performance 
prove # d the attraction of the hour. It carried the 
audience like a surprise, although they expected a 
noble effort from the ablest student in the academy. 
It exceeded their expectations, and was a fitting close 
of his honorable connection with the school. 

Returning home, he found his mother making 
preparations to visit relatives in Muskingum Coun- 
ty, eighteen miles from Zanesville. 

f You must go, James ; I have made all my ar- 
rangements for you to go with me," said his mother. 

" How long will 3^011 be gone? " 

" All the spring, and into the summer, perhaps." 

fr I had concluded to go to the Eclectic Institute, at 
Hiram, when the spring term opens." 

" You have ? Why do you go there ? " 



286 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" To prepare for college." 

" Do you expect you can work your way through 
college? " 

"I expect I can, or I should not undertake it." 
And James then rehearsed the circumstances under 
which he decided to go to college, if possible, and 
to take a preparatory course at Hiram. 

:f I shall be glad, James, to have you accomplish 
your purpose," remarked his mother, after listening 
to his rehearsal, in which she was deeply interested. 
" I think, however, that you had better go with me, 
and enter the Eclectic Institute at the opening of the 
fall term." 

" It will be wasting a good deal of time, it seems 
to me," said James. 

w I don't mean that you shall go there to idle away 
your time. Take your books along with you. You 
can find work there, too, I have no doubt. Perhaps 
you can find a school there to teach." 

"Well, if I can be earning something to help me 
along, perhaps I had better go. It will give me an 
opportunity to see more of the world — " 

" And some of your relations, also," interrupted 
his mother. 

It was settled that James should accompany his 
mother on her visit ; and they started as soon as they 
could get ready. The journey took them to Cleve- 
land first, where James was sensibly reminded of his 
encounter with the drunken captain, and his provi- 
dential connection with the canal boat. The Cleve- 
land and Columbus railroad had just been opened, 



THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 



287 



and James and his mother took their first ride in the 
cars on that day. James had not seen a railroad 
before, and it was one of the new things under the 
sun, that proved a real stimulus to his thoughts. He 
beheld in it a signal triumph of skill and enterprise. 

The state capitol had been erected at Columbus, 
and the legislature was in session. It was a orand 
spectacle to James. He had scarcely formed an 
idea of the building, so that the view of it surprised 
him. He visited the legislature in session, and re- 
ceived his first impressions of the law-making power. 
It was a great treat to him, and the impressions of 
that day were never obliterated. 

From Columbus they proceeded by stage to 
Zanesville. On their way James remarked, 

fr I never should have made an objection to this 
trip, if I had expected to see the capitol, or the leg- 
islature in session. That alone is equal to a month's 
schooling to me. It has given me an idea about 
public affairs, that I never had before." 

" It is fortunate that you came," replied Mrs. Gar- 
field. tr It does boys who think much good to see 
things which set them to thinking" 

"I guess that is so," replied James, with a roguish 
smile, as if he thought his mother had exerted her- 
self to compliment him. "Thinking is needed in 
this world about as much as anything." 

r ' Rio;ht thinking," suggested his mother. 

" Mr. Branch says a young man better think er- 
roneously than not to think at all," responded James. 

" I don't think I should agree with Mr. Branch. 



288 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

It is safer not to think than to think wrong," said 
Mrs. Garfield. 

" I suppose that Mr. Branch meant to rebuke dull 
scholars, who never think for themselves, and take 
every assertion of the books as correct, without ask- 
ing why? added James. 

James and his mother thus discussed the scenes 
and the times on their way to Zanesville, enjoying 
the change and the scenery very much. From the 
latter place they floated down the Muskingum 
river, in a skiff, to their destination, eighteen 
miles distant. Here they found their relatives the 
more rejoiced to see them because their visit was 
unexpected. 

As soon as they were fairly settled among their 
relations, within four or five days after their arrival, 
James began to cast about for something to do. 

" Perhaps you can get a school to keep over in 
Harrison, four miles from here," said his aunt. w I 
heard they were looking after a teacher." 

"Who shall I go to there to find out? " inquired 
James. 

" I can't tell you, but your uncle can, when he 
gets home." 

James learned to whom application should be 
made, and posted away immediately, and se- 
cured the school, at twelve dollars a month, for 
three months. 

"You are fortunate," said his mother, on hearing 
his report. ' You will be contented to stay now 



THIRD YEAR AT SCHOOL. 2Sg 



until I get ready to go home. What kind of a 
school-house have thev?" 

"A log-house ; not much of an affair." 

ff How large is the school? " 

,f About thirty ; enough to crowd the building full." 

M When do you begin ? " 

f ' Next Monday." 

"Board round, I suppose?" 

' Yes ; and some of the families are between two 
and three miles away." 

James commenced his school under favorable 
auspices, so far as his relations to the pnpils were 
concerned. The conveniences for a school were 
meager, and the parents were indifferent to the real 
wants of their children. Most of them failed to ap- 
preciate schooling. It was quite cold weather when 
the school opened, and there was no fuel provided. 
Near by the school-house, however, there was coal, 
in a bank, and James proposed to his pupils to dig 
fuel therefrom; and, in this way, their fire was run 
until it became so warm that fire was not needed. 

The pupils were not so far advanced as the pupils 
at Warrensville, but not so rough as those at the 
Ledge. The neighborhood was not so far advanced 
in the arts of civilization as the region with which 
James had been familiar. Yet, he enjoyed school- 
keeping there; and his connection with the families 
was pleasant. At the close of the term he received 
many expressions of affection and confidence from 
the pupils, and separated from them with the best 



of feeling. 



19 



290 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



Mrs. Garfield was ready to return to Orange at 
the close of the school : nor was James sorry to start 
on the journey home. After an absence of over 
three months, James found himself at the home- 
stead with more money than he had when he left. 




XIX. 



THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE. 




lEVERAL weeks would intervene before 
the commencement of the term at Hiram ; 
and James looked about for work that he 
might add to his funds for an education. 
He was planning now to lay up money to assist him- 
self through college. He found jobs to occupy his 
time fully until he would leave to enter the Eclectic 
Institute. 

It was the last of August, 185 1, when James 
reached Hiram. The board of trustees was in ses- 
sion. Proceeding directly to the institution, he ac- 
costed the janitor. 

" I want to see the principal of the institute," he 
said. 

" He is engaged with the board of trustees, who 
are in session now," replied the janitor. 
" Can I see him, or them? " 

"Probably; I will see." And the janitor went 
directly to the room of the trustees, and announced, 

291 



292 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



" A young man at the door, who is desirous to see 
the board at once." 

"Let him come in," answered the chairman. 

James presented himself politely, though, perhaps, 
awkwardly. 

"Gentlemen," he said, "I am anxious to get an 
education, and have come here to see what I can do." 

"Well, this is a good place to obtain an educa- 
tion," answered the chairman, without waiting for 
James to proceed further. "Where are you from?" 

"From Orange. My name is James Abram Gar- 
field. I have no father; he died when I was an in- 
fant. My mother is widow Eliza Garfield." 

" And you want what education this institution can 
furnish?" 

'Yes, sir, provided I can work my way." 

" Then you are poor ? " 

"Yes, sir; but I can work my way. I thought, 
perhaps, that I could have the chance to ring the 
bell, and sweep the floors, to pay part of my bills." 

" How much have you been to school ? " 

" I have attended Geauga Seminary three years, 
teaching school in the winter." 

"Ah ! then you are quite advanced?" 

"No, not very far advanced. I have commenced 
Latin and Greek." 

" Then you think of going to college?" 

" That is what I am trying for." 

" I think we had better try this young man," said 
one of the trustees, addressing the chairman. He 
was much impressed by the earnestness and intelli- 



THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE. 293 



gence of the applicant, and was in favor of render- 
ing him all the aid possible. 

"Yes," answered the chairman; "he has started 
out upon a noble work, and we must help him all we 
can." 

" How do we know that you can do the sweeping 
and bell-ringing to suit us?" inquired another trus- 
tee of James. 

'Try me — try me two weeks, and if it is not 
done to your entire satisfaction I will retire without 
a word." James' honest reply settled the matter. 

James was nineteen years old at this time ; he be- 
came twenty in the following November. So he 
was duly installed bell-ringer and sweeper-general. 

Hiram was a small, out-of-the-way town, twelve 
miles from the railroad, the "center" being at a 
cross-roads, with two churches, and half a dozen 
other buildings. The institution was located there 
to accommodate the sons and daughters of the West- 
ern-Reserve farmers. President Hinsdale, who now 
presides over the college, (it was elevated to a col- 
lege twelve or fifteen years ago,) says : " The Insti- 
tute building, a plain but substantially built brick 
structure, was put on the top of a windy hill, in the 
middle of a corn-field. One of the cannon that Gen- 
eral Scott's soldiers dragged to the city of Mexico in 
1S47, planted on the roof of the new structure, would 
not have commanded a score of farm-houses. Here 
the school opened at the time Garfield was closing 
his studies at Chester. It had been in operation two 
terms when he offered himself for enrollment. Hi- 



294 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



ram furnished a location, the board of trustees a 
building and the first teachers, the surrounding 
country students, but the spiritual Hiram made 
itself. Everything was new. Society, traditions, 
the genius of the school, had to be evolved from the 
forces of the teachers and pupils, limited by the gen- 
eral and local environment. Let no one be sur- 
prised when I say that such a school as this was 
the best of all places for young Garfield. There 
was freedom, opportunity, a large society of rapidly 
and eagerly opening young minds, instructors who 
were learned enough to instruct him, and abundant 
scope for ability and force of character, of which he 
had a superabundance. 

f ' Few of the students who came to Hiram in that 
day had more than a district-school education, 
though some had attended the high schools and 
academies scattered over the country ; so that Gar- 
field, although he had made but slight progress in 
the classics and the higher mathematics previous to 
his arrival, ranked well-up with the first scholars. 
In ability, all acknowledged that he was the peer of 
any ; soon his superiority to all others was generally 
conceded." 

James sought an early opportunity to confer with 
the principal. 

" I want your advice as to my course of study," 
he said. " My purpose is to enter college, and I 
want to pursue the best way there." 

" You want to make thorough work of it, as you 



THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE. 295 



go along?" the principal answered, by way of in- 
quiry. 

'Yes, sir, as thorough as possible. What I know, 
I want to know certainly ." 

' That is a good idea ; better take time, and mas- 
ter everything as you go along. Many students fail 
because they are satisfied with a smattering of 
knowledge. Be a scholar, or don't undertake." 

"I agree with you perfectly, and I am ready to 
accept your advice ; and will regulate my course 
accordingly." 

" Our regular preparatory course of study cannot 
be improved, I think," continued the principal. 
'You can pursue higher studies here, and enter col- 
lege in advance if you choose. But that can be de- 
termined hereafter. At present, you can go on with 
the branches undertaken, and time will indicate im- 
provement and changes necessary." 

" It will be necessary for me to labor some out of 
school hours, in order to pay all my bills," added 
James. 'Then I would like to be earning some- 
thing more to help me through college." 

" What do you propose to do ? " 

"I can work on a farm, or in a carpenter's shop, 
or do odd jobs at most anything that offers. I have 
already seen the carpenter here." 

"Well, what prospect for work?" 

" After a few days he will have work for me, 
mostly planing ; and that I have done more than 
anything in the carpenter's line." 

"You are fortunate to find work at once." 



296 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

ff I never have failed to find work, since I have 
been dependent upon my own exertions." 

" I hope you always will find work, that you may 
realize the accomplishment of your object. I shall 
do everything in my power to assist you, and do it 
with all my heart." 

"Thank } T ou," responded James, grateful for the 
deep interest the principal appeared to manifest in 
his welfare. 

He secured quarters in a room with four other 
students, rather thick for the highest comfort, but 
" necessity multiplies bedfellows." Here he set about 
his literary work with a zeal and devotion that at- 
tracted attention. The office of bell-ringer obliged 
him to rise very early ; for the first bell was rung at 
five o'clock. The office of sweeper compelled him 
to be on the alert at an early hour, also. Prompt- 
ness was the leading requirement of the youth who 
rang the bell. It must be rung on the mark. A 
single minute too early, or too late, spoiled the 
promptness. On the mark precisely, was the rule. 
Nor was it any cross to James. Promptness, as we 
have seen, was one of his born qualities. It was all 
the same to him whether he arose at four or five 
o'clock in the morning, or whether he must ring the 
bell three, or a dozen times a day. He adapted him- 
self to circumstances with perfect ease. Instead of 
bending to circumstances, circumstances bent to 
him. He made a good bell-ringer and sweeper, 
simply because it was a rule with him to do every- 
thing well. One of his room-mates said to him : 



THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE. 297 

"Jim, I don't see but you sweep just as well as 
you recite." 

"Why shouldn't I?" James responded, promptly. 

" Many people do important things best," replied 
his schoolmate, " and a lesson is more important than 
sweeping." 

* You are heretical," exclaimed James. " If your 
views upon other matters are not sounder than that, 
you will not make a very safe leader. Sweeping, 
in its place, is just as important as a lesson in Greek 
is, in its place, and, therefore, according to your own 
rule, should be done as well." 

r You are right, Jim ; I yield my heresy, like the 
honest boy that I am." 

" I think that the boy who would not sweep well, 
would not study well," continued James. "There 
may be exceptions to the rule ; but the rule is a cor- 
rect one." 

rf I guess you are about right, Jim ; but my opin- 
ion is that few persons carry out the rule. There 
are certain things about which most people are su- 
perficial, however thorough they may be in others." 

" That may be true ; I shall not dispute you 
there," rejoined James ; " and that is one reason why 
so many persons fail of success. They have no set- 
tled purpose to be thorough. Not long ago I read, 
in the life of Franklin, that he claimed, 'thorough- 
ness must be a principle of action.' ' 

" And that is why you sweep as well as you 
study?" interrupted the room-mate, in a compli- 
mentary tone. 



298 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



* Yes, of course. And there is no reason why a 
person should not be as thorough in one thing as in 
another. I don't think it is any harder to do work 
well than it is to half do it. I know that it is much 
harder to recite a lesson poorly than to recite it 
perfectly." 

" I found that out some time ago, to my mortifica- 
tion," rejoined the room-mate, in a playful manner. 
w There is some fun in a perfect lesson, I confess, 
and a great amount of misery in a poor one." 

" It is precisely so with sweeping," added James. 
" The sight of a half-swept floor would be an eye- 
sore to me all the time. It would be all of a piece 
with a poor lesson." 

" I could go the half-swept floor best," remarked 
the room-mate. 

fr I can go neither best," retorted James, " since 
there is no need of it." 

James had told the trustees to try him at bell- 
ringing and sweeping two weeks. They did ; and 
the trial was perfectly satisfactory. He was per- 
manently installed in the position. 

A person, now an esteemed clergyman, who acted 
in the same capacity six or eight years after James 
did, writes, " When I did janitor work, I had to ring 
a bell at five o'clock in the morning, and another at 
nine o'clock in the evening, and I think this had 
been an immemorial custom during school sessions. 
The work was quite laborious, and much depended 
upon the promptness and efficiency of the person 
who handled the bell-rope, as the morning had to be 



THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE. 2 QQ 

divided into equal portions, after a large slice had 
been taken out of it for the chapel exercises, which 
were always protracted to uncertain lengths. It was 
annoying, tedious work." 

A lady now living in the State of Illinois was a 
member of the school when James was inaugurated 
bell-ringer, and she writes : "When he first entered 
the institute, he paid for his schooling by doing jani- 
tor's work, — sweeping the floor and ringing the bell. 
I can see him even now standing, in the morning, 
with his hand on the bell-rope, ready to give the sig- 
nal calling teachers and scholars to engage in the 
duties of the day. As we passed by, entering the 
school-room, he had a cheerful word for every one. 
He was the most popular person in the institute. 
He was always good natured, fond of conversation, 
and very entertaining. He was witty, and quick at 
repartee ; but his jokes, though brilliant and strik- 
ing, were always harmless, and he never would 
willingly hurt another's feelings." 

The young reader should ponder the words, 
"most popular person in the institute," — and yet 
bell-ringer and sweeper ! Doing the most menial 
work there was to do with the same cheerfulness 
and thoroughness that he would solve a problem in 
algebra ! There is an important lesson in this fact 
for the young. They can afford to study it. The 
youth who becomes the most " popular " student in 
the institution, notwithstanding he rings the bell and 
sweeps the floors, must possess unusual qualities. 
Doubtless he made the office of bell-ringer and 



3oo 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



sweeper very respectable. We dare say that some 
students were willing to serve in that capacity there- 
after who were not willing to serve before. Any 
necessary and useful employment is respectable ; but 
many youths have not found it out. The students 
discovered the fact in the Eclectic Institute. They 
learned it of James. He dignified the humble offices 
that he filled. He did it by putting character into 
his work. 

There were nearly two thousand volumes in the 
library belonging to the school. From this treasury 
of knowledge James drew largely. Every spare 
moment of his time was occupied with books there- 
from. He began to be an enthusiastic reader of poet- 
ry at Geauga Seminary. ' x Young's Night Thoughts," 
which he found there, w^as the volume that particu- 
larly impressed his mind, just before he became a 
Christian under the preaching of the Disciples' min- 
ister at Orange. His tenacious memory retained 
much that he read, both of poetry and prose. Here 
he had a wider field to explore, more books to oc- 
cupy his attention, though not more time to read. 
He began to read topically and systematically. 

"What are you doing with that book? " inquired 
a room-mate ; " transcribing it? " 

" Not exactly, though I am making it mine as 
much as possible," James replied. " Taking notes." 

" I should think that would be slow work." 

" Not at all, the way I do." 

" What way are you doing? " 

" I note the important topics on which the book 



THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE. 



30 r 



treats, with the pages, that I may turn to any topic 
of which it treats, should I have occasion hereafter. 
I mean to do the same with every book I read, and 
preserve the notes for future use. 

"A good plan, if you have the patience. I want 
to dash through a book at double-quick ; I couldn't 
stop for such business," added the schoolmate. 

" I spend no more time over a book than you do, 
I think," answered James. " I catch the drift, and 
appropriate the strong points, and let all the rest 
slide. But taking notes serves to impress the con- 
tents upon my memory. Then, hereafter, when I 
speak or write upon a given topic, my notes will 
direct me to necessary material." 

"Your ammunition will be ready; all you will 
have to do will be to load and fire," suggested his 
room-mate. w That is not bad. I think the plan is 
a good one." 

"It will save much time in the long run. Instead 
of being obliged to hunt for information on topics, I 
can turn to it at once." James remarked thus with 
an assurance that showed his purpose was well ma- 
tured. He will testify to-day that the method adopted 
has been one of the most helpful and important rules 
of his life. Many scholars have pursued a similar 
course, and their verdict respecting the usefulness 
of the plan is unanimous. It is an excellent method 
for the young of both sexes, whether they are con- 
templating a thorough education or not ; for it will 
promote their intelligence, and increase their general 
information. This result is desirable in the humblest 



o 02 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

as well as in the highest position. An intelligent, 
well-informed citizen adorns his place. That hon- 
ored and lifted into respectability the office of bell- 
ringer and sweeper at Hiram Institute, as we have 
seen. 

When James had completed his collegiate course, 
and became Principal of Hiram Institute, he wrote 
to a youth whom he desired should undertake a lib- 
eral course of education : 

"Tell me, Burke, do you not feel a spirit stirring 
within you that longs to know to do and to dare, to 
hold converse with the great world of thought, and 
holds before you some high and noble object to 
which the vigor of your mind and the strength of 
your arm may be given? Do you not have longings 
like these, which you breathe to no one, and which 
you feel must be heeded, or you will pass through 
life unsatisfied and regretful? I am sure you have 
them, and they will forever cling round your heart 
till you obey their mandate. They are the voice of 
that nature which God has given you, and which, 
when obeyed, will bless you and your fellow-men." 

Whether Burke felt this "spirit stirring within 
him " or not, it is certain that it moved James, as 
some mysterious power, when he entered this new 
field, and long before, impelling him onward and 
upward in a career that could not have been denied 
him without inflicting an everlasting wound upon his 
soul. 

In the spring, after James became connected with 
the school, the principal proposed that the pupils 



THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE. 303 



should bring trees from the forest, and set them out 
on the Campus, to adorn the grounds, and provide 
a lovely shade for those who would gather there 
twenty and thirty years hence. 

"A capital idea ! " exclaimed James to Baker, with 
whom he was conferring upon the subject. " If each 
male student will put out one tree for himself, and 
one for a female student, we can cover the Campus 
with trees, and the streets near by as well ; and do 
it next Saturday, too." 

"That is real gallantry, Jim," answered Baker. 
r The girls, of course, can't set out trees." 

"And the boys will take pride in setting them out 
for them," interrupted James. 

" And calling them by their names," added Baker, 
suggestively. 

" A bright idea is that, to name the trees after 
those for whom they are set out," responded James. 
"You are an original genius, George; I should not 
have thought of that. It must be because you think 
more of girls than I do." 

" But the plan to plant a tree for each girl is yours, 
Jim. I can't claim the patent for that." 

" I am not ashamed to own it. It is worthy of the 
boys of the Western Reserve. We can have a rich 
time in carrying out the plan, better than a ride or 
party." 

" I think so," said Baker. 

" The satisfaction of knowing we are doing some- 
thing that will be a great blessing thirty years from 



304 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

now, adding beauty and comfort to the Institute and 
town, is stimulus enough," continued James. 

This enterprise was nobly prosecuted, and the 
trees were planted and named as above. James en- 
joyed it hugely. He was a great admirer of nature, 
and a tree or a flower afforded him genuine pleasure. 
To plant trees about his favorite institution, that 
would furnish shady walks in future days, was to 
him a privilege that he would not willingly miss. 

During his first year's connection with the school, 
a female student of considerable brightness and 
scholarship violated some rule of the institution, for 
which the principal thought she should be publicly 
rebuked. The rebuke would be administered after 
the chapel exercises on the following morning. The 
affair caused much discussion among the pupils. 
Their sympathies were wholly enlisted for the girl, 
as she was deservedly quite popular. 

" It is most too bad," remarked James to a lady 
student. "It will well-nigh kill her; I pity her." 

M I think it is a shame to make a small affair like 
that so public," replied the young lady. " If it was 
one of the boys it would not be half so bad." 

" You think boys are used to it, or are of less con- 
sequence than girls?" retorted James, in a vein of 
humor. 

" Not exactly that. I think the worst way of re- 
buking a young lady should not be selected." 

"I agree with you exactly; but I suppose there 
is no help for it now." 



THE ECLECTIC INSTITUTE. 



305 



rf Unless we get up a petition asking that the re- 
buke be privately administered." 

"I will sign it," said James ; "but it must be done 
immediately." 

" I will see some of the girls at once." And, so 
saying, the young lady hastened away. 

In many groups the matter w r as discussed on that 
day, and much excitement prevailed ; but the move- 
ment for a petition failed, and the following morn- 
ing dawned with the assurance that the rebuke 
would be administered before the whole school. 
The scholars assembled with hearts full of pity for 
the unfortunate girl. No one felt more keenly for 
her than James. He expected to see her overcome 
and crushed. 

The principal called upon her to rise, and the 
rebuke was administered, while all the scholars 
dropped their heads in pity for her. She survived 
the ordeal. She neither wept nor fainted. On re- 
tiring from the chapel, with the crowd of scholars, 
she remarked to James, in the hearing of many, 

" It seems to me that Uncle Sutherland was rather 
personal." 

The jocose remark created a laugh all round, and 
none laughed more heartily than James, who con- 
cluded that their profound sympathies had been 
sadly wasted. 

James had not been at Hiram long before the stu- 
dents discovered one prominent trait of his char- 
acter, viz., a keen sense of justice. He was fond 
of ball-playing, and he wanted everybody to enjoy 
20 



306 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

it. One day he took up the bat to enjoy a game, 
when he observed several of the smaller boys look- 
ing on wistfully, seeming to say in their hearts, we 
wish we could play. 

"Are not those boys in the game?" he asked. 

"What! those little chaps? Of course not; they 
would spoil the game." 

" But they want to play just as much as we do. 
Let them come in ! " 

"No; we don't want the game spoiled. They 
can't play ! " 

" Neither shall I, if they cannot," added James, 
decidedly. And he threw down his bat. 

"Well, let them come, then," shouted one of the 
players, who wanted the game to go on. " Spoil it, 
if you will." 

"We shall make it livelier," responded James, 
taking up his bat, and calling upon the little boys to 
fall in. "We may not have quite so scientific a 
game, but then all hands will have the fun of it ; 
and that is what the game is for." 




XX. 



STUDENT AND TEACHER. 




AMES ceased to be janitor at the close of 
his first year at Hiram, and was pro- 
moted to assistant teacher of the Eng- 
lish department and ancient languages. 
His rapid advancement is set forth by Dr. Hins- 
dale, who is now president of the institution : 

" His mind was now reaching out in all directions ; 
and all the more widely because the elastic course 
of study, and the absence of traditionary trammels, 
gave him room. He was a vast elemental force, 
and nothing was so essential as space and opportu- 
nity. Hiram was now forming her future teachers, 
as well as creating her own culture. Naturally, 
then, when he had been only one year in the school 
he was given a place in the corps of teachers. In 
the catalogue of 1853-54 his name appears both 
with the pupils and teachers : 'James A. Garfield, 
Cuyahoga County,' and 'J. A. Garfield, Teacher in 
the English Department, and of the Ancient Lan- 
guages.' His admission to the faculty page may 

307 



3o8 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

be an index to a certain rawness in the school ; but 
it gave to his talents and ambition the play that an 
older school, with higher standards, could not have 
afforded him." 

Now he was filling three important positions, stu- 
dent, teacher, and carpenter. He had become 
nearly as indispensable to the carpenter's business 
as to that of the Institute. The sound of his ham- 
mer, before and after school, was familiar to the 
students and the citizens. 

" See there ! " exclaimed Clark, pointing to James 
on the roof of a house, building near the academy. 
"Jim has taken that roof to shingle." 

" Alone? " inquired Jones. 

f Yes, alone ; and it won't take him long, either, 
if he keeps his hammer going as it goes now. Jim's 
a brick." 

>f Very little brick about him, I should say; more 
brain than brick." 

" With steam enough on all the while to keep his 
brain running. Did you ever see such a worker?" 

" Never. Work seems as necessary to him as air 
and food. If he was not compelled to work, in order 
to pay his way, his brain would shatter his body all 
to pieces in a year. He is about the only student I 
ever thought was fortunate in being poor as a stray 
cat." 

" I declare, I never thought of that. Poverty is 
a blessing sometimes. I had thought it was a curse 
to a student always." 

"It is Jim's salvation, added Jones. "I have 



STUDENT AND TEACHER. 309 

thought of it many times. I suppose that his car- 
pentering business is better exercise for him than 
our ball-playing, or pitching quoits." 

"Minus the fun? added Clark, quickly; really 
believing that James was depriving himself of all 
first-class sport. " Have you not observed how he 
enjoys a game of ball or quoits when he joins us? " 

" Of course ; but he does not seem to me to enjoy 
these games any more than he enjoys study, reading, 
and manual labor. He studies just as he plays 
ball, exactly, with all his might ; and I suppose that 
is the way we all ought to do." 

" That is what Father Bentley said in his sermon 
on, ' Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with 
thy might.' You remember it?" 

"Certainly; and who knows but Father Bentley 
has engaged Jim to illustrate his doctrine? He 
preaches and Jim practices. Nobody in the Eclec- 
tic Institute will dispute such a sermon while Jim's 
about; you can count on that." The remark was 
made jocosely, and, at the same, a compliment was 
intended for James. 

This conversation discloses the facts about James' 
manual labor while connected with the Institute. We 
have not space for the details of his work with the 
plane and hammer during the whole period. We 
can only say, here, once for all, that he continued to 
add to his money by manual labor to the end of 
his three years at Hiram. He planed all the siding 
of the new house that he was shingling when the 
foregoing conversation took place. His labor was 



IO LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



expended upon other buildings, also, in the place, 
during that period. Several jobs of farming, also, 
were undertaken at different times. He was laying 
up money to assist himself in college, in addition to 
paying his way at the Institute. 

When James entered the school his attention was 
attracted to a class of three in geometry. As he 
listened to the recitation in this study, which was ani- 
mated and sharp, he became particularly impressed. 
Since that time he said, " I regarded teacher and class 
with reverential awe." The three persons in the 
class were William B. Hazen, who became one of 
our most distinguished major-generals in the late 
rebellion, and who is now on the Indian frontier, 
Geo. A. Baker, now a prominent citizen of Cleve- 
land, Ohio, and Miss Almeda A. Booth, a very tal- 
ented lady of nearly thirty years, who was teach- 
ing in the school, and at the same time pursuing 
her studies in the higher mathematics and clas- 
sics. As this Miss Booth exerted a more power- 
ful influence upon James than any other teacher, 
except Dr. Mark Hopkins, of Williams College, we 
shall speak of her particularly, and her estimate of 
our hero. She was the daughter of a Methodist 
preacher, whose circuit extended a thousand miles 
on the Reserve ; a man of marked mental strength, 
and of great tact and energy, The daughter inher- 
ited her father's intellectual power and force of char- 
acter, so that when the young man to whom she 
was betrothed died, she resolved to consecrate her- 
self to higher intellectual culture, that her useful- 



STUDENT AND TEACHER. 3II 

ness might be augmented. This resolution brought 
her to the Eclectic Institute. She died in 1875, 
and afterwards^ General Garfield said of her talents, 
" When she was twelve years of age she used to puz- 
zle her teachers with questions, and distress them 
by correcting their mistakes. One of these, a male 
teacher, who was too proud to acknowledge the cor- 
rections of a child, called upon the most learned 
man in town for help and advice in regard to a point 
of dispute between them. He was told that he 
was in error, and that he must acknowledge his 
mistake. The teacher was manly enough to follow 
this wise advice, and thereafter made this little girl 
his friend and helper. It was like her to help him 
quietly, and without boasting. During her whole 
life none of her friends ever heard an intimation 
from her that she had ever achieved an intellectual 
triumph over anybody in the world." 

It was fortunate for James that this accomplished 
lady became deeply interested in his progress and 
welfare. 

" The most remarkable young man I ever met," 
she said to the principal. " There must be a grand 
future before him." 

" True, if he does not fall out of the way," an- 
swered the principal. 

" I scarcely thought that were possible when I 
spoke. His Christian purpose is one of the remark- 
able things about him. His talents, work, every- 
thing, appear to be subject to this Christian aim. I 
feel that he will make a power in the world." 



312 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE, 



" I agree with you : such are my feelings in regard 
to him, notwithstanding the prevalence of tempta- 
tions that lure and destroy so many of our hopeful 
young men." The principal had seen more of the 
world than Miss Booth, so he spoke with less confi- 
dence. 

James had not been connected with the school but 
a few months before his studies were the same as 
those of Miss Booth, and they were in the same 
classes. " I was far behind Miss Booth in mathe- 
matics and the physical sciences," he says now ; 
"but we were nearly in the same place in Greek and 
Latin." She could render him essential aid in his 
studies, and she delighted to do it. Their studies 
were nearly the same until he ceased to be a member 
of the school. The librarian kept text-books for 
sale, and the following are his memoranda of sales 
to them : 

"January, 1852. Latin Grammar and Caesar. 
March, 1852. Greek Grammar. 
April, 1852. French Grammar. 
August, 1S52. German Grammar and Reader. 
November, 1852. Xenophon's Memorabilies and 
Greek Testament." 

All this in a single year. 

"August, 1853. Sophocles and Herodotus. 

November, 1853. Homer's Iliad." 

During the fall term of 1853, Miss Booth and 
James read about one hundred pages of Herodotus 
and one hundred of Livy. They met two of the 



STUDENT AND TEACHER. 3^ 



professors, also, on two evenings of each week, to 
make a joint translation of the book of Romans. 
His diary has this record for December 15, 1853: 
"Translation society sat three hours at Miss Booth's 
room, and agreed upon the translation of nine verses." 
The record shows that these studies were pursued 
critically, and therefore slowly. 

Miss Booth was more or less familiar with the 
standard authors of English literature, both prose 
and poetry ; and she aided James greatly in the se- 
lection of books, many of which they read together, 
discussing their merits, and making notes. In a 
tribute to her memory, a few years since, General 
Garfield said : " The few spare hours which school- 
work left us, were devoted to such pursuits as each 
preferred, but much study was done in common. I 
can name twenty or thirty books, which will be 
doubly precious to me because they were read and 
discussed in company with her. I can still read be- 
tween the lines the memories of her first impressions 
of the page, and her judgment of its merits. She 
was always ready to aid any friend with her best 
efforts." 

James was appointed to prepare a thesis for an 
exhibition day. One evening he repaired to the 
room of Miss Booth. 

"I want your help, Miss Booth," he said. "I am 
afraid that I shall make a botch of it without your 
assistance." 

" I will risk you," Miss Booth replied ; "but I will 
render you all the assistance in my power." 



314 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" That will be all I shall need," remarked James, 
facetiously ; " and I hardly see how I can get along 
with less. I like to talk over subjects before I write ; 
it is a great help to me." 

" It is an essential help to everybody," answered 
Miss Booth. * Two heads may be better than one 
in canvassing any subject. Discussion awakens 
thought, sharper and more original ; and it often 
directs the inquirer to new and fresher sources of 
information. I am at leisure to discuss your thesis 
at length." 

So James opened the subject by stating some of 
his difficulties, and making inquiries. Both were 
soon absorbed in the subject before them, so thor- 
oughly absorbed as to take no note of time, nor 
dream that the night was gliding away, until sur- 
prised by the morning light coming in at the window. 

In 1853 Miss Booth proposed that twelve of the 
advanced pupils — James and herself among the 
number — should organize a literary society for the 
purpose of spending the approaching vacation of 
four weeks in a more thorough study of the classics. 
The society was formed, and the services of one of 
the professors were secured, to whom they recited 
statedly. During that vacation they read "the Pas- 
torals of Virgil, the first six books of the Iliad, ac- 
companied by a thorough drill in the Latin and 
Greek grammars at each recitation." It proved a very 
profitable vacation to James, a season to which he 
always looked back with pride and pleasure. He 
regarded Miss Booth as the moving and controlling 



STUDENT AND TEACHER. 



315 



spirit of that society, increasing his sense of obliga- 
tion to her. 

Perhaps the chief reason of Miss Booth's confi- 
dence in the Christian purpose of James, as ex- 
pressed to the principal, was found in his consistent 
Christian life. From the time he became a member 
of the Institute he took an active part in the religious 
meetings, identifying himself with the people of God 
in the village. His exhortations and appeals were 
examples of earnestness and eloquence, to which the 
students and citizens listened in rapt attention. No 
student of so much power in religious meetings had 
been connected with the school. Indeed, it was the 
universal testimony that no such speaker, of his age, 
had ever been heard. , 

Father Bentley, pastor of the Disciples' Church in 
Hiram, was wonderfully drawn to James. After a 
few months, he felt that James' presence was almost 
indispensable to the success of a meeting. He in- 
vited him specially to address the audience. Often 
he urged him to take a seat upon the platform, that 
he might address the assembly to better advantage. 
In his absence he invited James to take charge of 
the meeting. The last year of his stay at Hiram, 
Father Bentley persuaded him several times to oc- 
cupy his pulpit on the Sabbath, and preach, which 
he did to the gratification of the audience. 

His gift at public speaking was so remarkable, 
that a demand was frequently made upon him for a 
speech on social and public occasions. It is related, 
that, at a weekly prayer-meeting, he was on the 



316 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

platform with Father Bentley, waiting to perform 
his accustomed part, when a messenger came for 
him to address a political meeting, where speakers 
had failed them. Father Bentley scarcely noticed 
what was going on, until James was half-way down 
the aisle, when he called out : 

"James, don't go!'' then quickly, as if thinking 
his request might be unreasonable, he said to the 
congregation, "Never mind, let him go; that boy 
will yet be President of the United States." 

" I remember his vigorous exhortations now," re- 
marked a Christian woman recently, who was con- 
nected with the Institute at that time ; " they were 
different from anything I was accustomed to hear in 
conference meetings." 

" How were they different? " she was asked. 

" They were original and fresh beyond anything I 
had ever heard in such meetings ; nothing common- 
place or stale about them, making one feel that they 
were not the thoughts of some commentator he was 
giving us at second hand, but the product of his own 
genius and great talents, uttered with real earnestness 
and sincerity." 

" He must have possessed a wonderful command 
of language," remarked her friend. 

f That was one thing that charmed us. His flow 
of language, appropriate and select, was like a river. 
It seemed as if he had only to open his mouth, and 
thoughts flowed out clothed in language that was all 
aglow. Many, many times I heard the remark, f he 
speaks as easily as he breathes.' Well," she con- 



STUDENT AND TEACHER. 3^ 



tinued, after a pause, " he was substantially just 
such a speaker then as he is now, bating the dignity 
that age and experience impart." 

In this connection we should speak of him as a 
debater in the lyceum. He was older and more ex- 
perienced at Hiram than he was at Chester, and his 
efforts in debate were accordingly more manly. The 
Illinois lady, from whom we have already quoted, 
says, " In the lyceum he early took rank far above 
the others as a speaker and debater." His interest 
in public matters was growing with the excitement 
of the times. The infamous fugitive-slave law, for 
the restoration of runaway slaves to their masters, 
had been enacted by Congress, as a compromise 
measure, and no people of the country felt more 
outraged by the attempts to enforce the Act than the 
people of the Western Reserve. The excitement 
became intense. Young men partook of it in com- 
mon with older citizens. It pervaded the higher 
schools. It was as strong in the Eclectic Institute 
as elsewhere. School and village lyceums received 
an impetus from it. James was an uncompromising 
foe to slavery before ; if possible, he was more so 
now. The excitement fired him up in debate. He 
was more denunciatory than ever of slavery. He 
had been a great admirer of Daniel Webster, but 
his advocacy of the fugitive-slave bill awakened his 
contempt. He was not a young man to conceal his 
feelings, and so his utterance was emphatic. 

ff A covenant with death, and an agreement with 
hell," he exclaimed, quoting from Isaiah, "that will 



318 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

destroy the authors of it. The cry of the oppressed 
and down-trodden will appeal to the Almighty for 
retribution, like that of the blood of Abel. The 
lightning of divine wrath will yet shiver the old, 
gnarled tree of slavery to pieces, leaving neither 
root nor branch ! " 

When James became assistant teacher, he had for 
a pupil, in his Greek class, Miss Lucretia Rudolph, 
the young lady in whom he was so much interested 
at Chester. Her father removed to Hiram, in order 
to give her a better opportunity to acquire a thor- 
ough education. 

James was glad to meet her ; and he was happy 
to welcome so talented a scholar as pupil. He had 
no expectation that she would ever stand in a closer 
relation to him than pupil. But the weeks and 
months rolled on, and she became one of his per- 
manent scholars, not only in Greek, but in other 
branches as well ; in all of them developing a schol- 
arship that won his admiration. At the same time 
her many social and moral qualities impressed him, 
and the impression deepened from month to month. 
The result was, before he closed his connection with 
the school, that a mutual attachment grew up be- 
tween them, and she engaged to become his wife 
when he had completed his course of study, and was 
settled. He was twenty-two years of age, and Miss 
Rudolph was one year his junior. 

This was one of the most important steps that 
James had taken, and it proved to be one of the 
most fortunate. Those who prophesied that the en- 



STUDENT AND TEACHER. 319 

gagement would interfere with his studies did not 
fully understand or appreciate the solidity of his 
character nor the inflexibility of his purpose. Such 
love affairs are often deprecated because so many 
young men allow them to interfere with their life- 
purpose, thus disclosing weakness and puerile ideas. 
With James the love affair became an aid to the con- 
trolling purpose of his life, and, at the same time, 
served to refine his coarser qualities by passing them 
through the fire of a pure and exalted passion. True 
love is sweeter and higher than the brightest talents, 
and when its pure and elevating influence refines the 
latter they shine with a fairer lustre than ever. This 
was eminently true of James. 

Notwithstanding James was so bashful and retiring 
when he first went to Chester to commence his stud- 
ies, he became one of the most social and genial 
students at Hiram. He was the life of the social 
circle. Unlike many ripe students, whose minds 
are wholly absorbed in their studies, he could unbend 
himself, and enter into a social occasion with zest, 
bringing his talents, his acquisitions, his wit and 
humor, to contribute to the enjoyment of all. The 
lady in Illinois, from whom we have twice quoted, 
says on this point : 

"During the month of June the entire school went 
in carriages to their annual grove-meeting, at Ran- 
dolph, some twenty-five miles away. On this trip 
he was the life of the party, occasionally, bursting 
out in an eloquent strain at the sight of a bird, or a 
trailing vine, or a venerable giant of the forest. He 



320 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



would repeat poetry by the hour, having a very re- 
tentive memory." 

The reader learns from this, that it was not "small 
talk," nor mere slang and folly, that he contributed 
to a social time, but sensible, instructive material. 
He had no sympathy for, or patience with, young 
men who dabbled in silly or trifling conversation and 
acts, to entertain associates. To him it was evidence 
of such inherent weakness, and absence of common 
sense, that it aroused his contempt. One who was 
intimate with him in social gatherings at Hiram 
makes a remark that discloses an important element 
of his popularity. 'There was a cordiality in his 
disposition which won quickly the favor and esteem 
of others. He had a happy habit of shaking hands, 
and would give a hearty grip, which betokened a 
kind-hearted feeling for all." The same writer says, 
what confirms the foregoing statements respecting 
his recognized abilities, " In those days, both the 
faculty and pupils were in the habit of calling him 
'the second Webster,' and the remark was common, 
' He will fill the White House yet.' " 

There was one branch of the fine arts that he 
pursued, to gratify a taste in that direction, which 
should receive a passing notice. It was mezzotint 
drawing. He beeame so proficient in the art that 
he was appointed teacher of the same. The lady 
from whom we have quoted was one of his pupils, 
and she writes, 

rr One of his gifts was that of mezzotint drawing, and 
he gave instruction in this branch. I was one of his 



STUDENT AND TEACHER, 32I 



pupils in this, and have now the picture of a cross, 
upon which he did some shading and put on the 
finishing touches. Upon the margin is written, in the 
hand of the noted teacher, his own name and his 
pupils. There are, also, two other drawings, one 
of a large European bird on the bough of a tree, 
and the other a church-yard scene in winter, done by 
him at that time." 

Thus the versatility of his talents, enforced by his 
intense application, appeared to win in almost any 
undertaking. Without his severe application, his 
versatility would not have availed much. He re- 
duced that old maxim thoroughly to practice, "Ac- 
complish, or never attempt," because his application 
was invincible. Here was the secret of his success 
in teaching, — just as good a teacher as scholar. 
Before the completion of his academic course the 
trustees made his success a subject of serious con- 
sideration. 

"We must secure his return to Hiram as soon as 
he gets through college," said the chairman. " He 
will make a popular and successful professor." 

"That is true," replied another trustee. "In what 
department would you put him? " 

" Any department that is open. He will fill any 
position admirably. I have noticed that when we 
conclude that he is particularly suited to one posi- 
tion, he soon surprises us by filling another equally 
well." 

" It will certainly be for the popularity of the 
school to install him over a prominent professorship 

21 



322 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



here," added the chairman; "and I dare say it will 
be agreeable to his feelings." 

The subject was not dropped here. Both the prin- 
cipal and chairman of the board interviewed James 
upon the subject ; and when he left the Institute 
for college, it was well understood that he would re- 
turn at the close of his college course. The present 
president of the institution says : 

" I shall not here speak of him as a teacher further 
than to say, in two years' service he had demon- 
•strated his great ability in that capacity, had won the 
hearts of the students generally, and had wrought 
in the minds of the school authorities the conviction 
that his further services would be indispensable on 
his return from college." 

On his success as a teacher, when preparing for 
college, the Illinois lady, who was his pupil, writes : 

" He was a most entertaining teacher, — ready 
with illustrations, and possessing, in a marked de- 
gree, the power of exciting the interest of the schol- 
ars, and afterward making clear to them the les- 
sons. In the arithmetic class there were ninety 
pupils, and I cannot recollect a time when there 
was any flagging in the interest. There were never 
any cases of unruly conduct, or a disposition to 
shirk. With scholars who were slow of compre- 
hension, or to whom recitations were a burden, on 
account of their modest or retiring disposition, he 
was specially attentive, and by encouraging words 
and gentle assistance would manage to put all at 



STUDENT AND TEACHER. 



323 



their ease, and awaken in them a confidence in them- 
selves.." 

A leading lawyer of Cleveland, 'Ohio, Hon. J. H. 
Rhodes, referring to his connection with the school, 
at the time James was studying and teaching, in a 
public assembly, said, 

" I remember a circumstance that had much to do 
with my remaining at Hiram. I was a little home- 
sick, and one day I went into the large hall of the 
college building, and the tall, muscular, tow-headed 
man in charge there, who was teaching algebra, 
came up to me, and, seeing a cloud over my face, 
threw his arms about me in an ardent way. Imme- 
diately the home-sickness disappeared. The tow- 
headed man has not so much hair to-day as he had 
then. Hard knocks in public life have uprooted a 
heap of his hair." 

"Going to Bethany College, I suppose," remarked 
the principal to him. That was the college estab- 
lished by Alexander Campbell, founder of the sect 
called Disciples. 

" I had intended to go there until recently," James 
answered. 

" What has changed your purpose ? That college 
is of our denomination, you know." 

" Yes, I know ; but I have been thinking that it 
might be better for me to enlarge my observation 
by going beyond our sect." 

"That may be ; you want more room, do you? ' 

"I know the Disciples church pretty well. Per- 
haps I had better know something outside of it. It 



324 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

seems narrow to me to tie myself down to the limits 
of my own denomination. Besides, will it not be of 
real value to me to connect myself with a New Eng- 
land college? " 

" Perhaps so ; I agree with you in the main ; too 
contracted a sphere will not be well for you. That 
idea is well worth considering. You will be quali- 
fied to enter college two years in advance ; at least, 
you can enter some colleges two years in advance. 
What college have you in mind?" 

" I have not decided upon any particular one yet. 
I am going to write to Yale College, Williams Col- 
lege, and Brown University, stating the ground I 
have been over, and inquiring whether I can enter 
Junior, learning the expense, and other things. 

'That is a good plan. Then you will know defi- 
nitely where to go, and you can prepare accord- 
ingly." 

James did write to the presidents of Yale College, 
New Haven, Ct., Williams College, Williamstown, 
Mass., and to the president of Brown University, 
Providence, R. I., also; and each one of the presi- 
dents replied to his inquiries. The substance of the 
answers, together with his decision, may be learned 
from a letter that James wrote to a friend one week 
before he started for college, as follows : 

* There are three reasons why I have decided not 
to go to Bethany : First, the course of study is not so 
extensive or thorough as in eastern colleges ; second, 
Bethan}' leans too heavily toward slavery ; third, 
I am the son of Disciple parents, am one myself, and 



STUDENT AND TEACHER. 



3^5 



have had but little acquaintance with people of other 
views, and having always lived in the west, I think 
it will make me more liberal, both in my religious 
and general views and sentiments, to go into a new 
circle, where I shall be under new influences. These 
considerations led me to conclude to go to some New 
England college. I therefore wrote to the presi- 
dents of Brow T n University, Yale, and Williams, set- 
ting forth the amount of study I had done, and ask- 
ing how long it would take me to finish their course. 

f Their answers are now before me. All tell me 
I can graduate in two years. They are all brief, 
business notes, but President Hopkins concludes 
with this sentence : r If you come here we shall be 
glad to do what we can for you.' Other things 
being so nearly equal, this sentence, which seems to 
be a kind of friendly grasp of the hand, has settled 
the question for me. I shall start for Williams next 
week." 

James always did like to have people carry their 
hearts in their hands, as he did ; and Dr. Hopkins 
came so near to it that he put his heart into his pen, 
when he wrote, and James accepted his hearty hand- 
shake. 

"How is it, James, about funds? You cannot 
have enough money laid up for your college ex- 
penses." His brother said this to him several weeks 
before he closed his studies at Hiram, just at the 
time when James was revolving the subject with 
some anxiety. True, he had trusted to Providence 
so much, and Providence had provided for him so 



326 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

unexpectedly at times, and so generously always, 
that he was disposed to trust for the wherewith to 
pay expenses in college. His brother's question was 
timely. He always thought that Providence man- 
aged the affair. 

"No, I have not more than half enough," James 
replied ; " but I shall teach in the winter, and per- 
haps I can find some kind of labor to perform in 
term time. I always have been able to pay my 
way." 

" But if you enter two years in advance I would 
not advise you to labor in term-time. You will have 
enough to do." 

" How can I pay my way unless I do work?" 

" I will loan you money to meet your expenses?" 

"And wait long enough for me to pay it?" 

"Yes. When you get through college you can 
teach, and it will not take you long to pay the debt." 

" Suppose I should die ; where will you get your 
pay?" 

"That is my risk." 

" It ought not to be your risk. It is not right that 
you should lose the money on my account." 

" It is if I consent to it." 

"It occurs to me," continued James, after a pause, 
" that I can arrange it in this way. You can loan 
me the money, and I will get my life insured for five 
hundred dollars. This will protect you in case of 
my death." 

" I will agree to that, if it suits you any better." 

"Well, it does. I shall be satisfied with that 



STUDENT AND TEACHER. 



327 



method ; and I shall be relieved of some anxiety. I 
want to make my two years in college the most prof- 
itable of any two years of my course of study." 

James took out an insurance upon his life, and 
when he carried it to his brother he remarked : 

" If I live I shall pay you, and if I die you will suf- 
fer no loss." 

What James accomplished during the three years 
he was at Hiram Institute, may be briefly stated, 
thus : The usual preparatory studies, requiring four 
years, together with the studies of the first two years 
in college, — the studies of six years in all, — he mas- 
tered in three years. At the same time he paid his 
own bills by janitor and carpenter work, and teach- 
ing, and, in addition, laid up a small amount for col- 
lege expenses. 




XXI. 



IN COLLEGE. 




T the close of the summer term at Wil- 
liams College candidates for admission, 
who presented themselves, were exam- 
ined. James presented himself to Dr. 
Hopkins very different, in his personal appear- 
ance, from the well-worded and polished letter that 
he wrote to him. One describes him "As a tall, 
awkward youth, with a great shock of light hair, 
rising nearly erect from a broad, high forehead, 
and an open, kindly, and thoughtful face, which 
showed no traces of his long study with poverty and 
privation." His dress was thoroughly western, and 
very poor at that. It was evident to Dr. Hopkins 
that the young stranger before him did not spend 
much time at his toilet ; that he cared more for an 
education than he did for dress. Of course Dr. 
Hopkins did not recognize him. 

" My name is Garfield, from Ohio," said James. 
That was enough. Dr. Hopkins recalled the capi- 
tal letter which the young man wrote. His heart 

328 



IN COLLEGE. ~ og 



was in his hand at once, and he repeated the cordial 
hand-shake that James felt when he read in the doc- 
tor's letter, "If you come here, we shall be glad to 
do what we can for you." James felt at home at 
once. It was such a kind, fatherly greeting, that 
he felt almost as if he had arrived home. He never 
had a natural father whom he could remember, but 
now he had found an intellectual father, sure, and 
he was never happier in his life. Yet a reverential 
awe possessed his soul as he stood before the presi- 
dent of the college, whose massive head and over- 
hanging brow denoted a giant in intellect. James 
was perfectly satisfied that he had come to the right 
place now ; he had no wish to be elsewhere. He 
had read Dr. Hopkins' Lectures on the " Evidences 
of Christianity," and now the author impressed him 
just as the book did when he read it. The impres- 
sion of greatness was uppermost. 

James passed the examination without any diffi- 
culty, and was admitted to the Junior class. Indeed, 
his examination was regarded as superior. He was 
qualified to stand abreast with the Juniors, who had 
spent Freshman and Sophomore years in the col- 
leges. And this fact illustrates the principle of thor- 
oughness, for which we have said James was distin- 
guished. In a great measure he had been his own 
teacher in the advanced studies that he must master 
in order to enter the Junior class ; yet he was thor- 
oughly prepared. 

'You can have access to the college library if 
you remain here during the summer vacation," said 



330 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

Dr. Hopkins to him. "If you enjoy reading, you 
will have a good opportunity to indulge your taste 
for it." 

"I shall remain here during vacation, and shall 
be thankful for the privilege of using the library," 
answered James. " I have not had the time to read 
what I desire, hitherto, as I have had to labor and 
teach, to pay my bills. It will be a treat for me to 
spend a few weeks in reading, with nothing else 
to do." 

Dr. Hopkins gave him excellent advice, and words 
of encouragement, not only for vacation, but for 
term time, as well; and James found himself revel- 
ing among books, within a few days. He had 
never seen a library of such dimensions as that into 
which he was now introduced, and his voracious 
mental appetite could now partake of a " square 
meal." One of the authors whom he desired to 
know was Shakespeare. He had read only such 
extracts from his writings as he had met with in 
other volumes. Therefore he took up a volume 
containing Shakespeare's entire works with peculiar 
satisfaction. He read and studied it, studied and 
read it, committing portions of it to memory, and 
fairly made the contents of the book his own. His 
great familiarity with the works of Shakespeare 
dates from that period. Certain English poets, also, 
he read and studied, for the first time; and he com- 
mitted a number of poems to memory, which he can 
repeat to-day. Works of fiction he rejected from 
principle. When he joined the Disciples' church 



IN COLLEGE. 33 r 



he resolved to read no novels. His decision was in 
accordance with the practice of that church. On 
the whole, that vacation in the college library was a 
very profitable one to James. It was just what he 
needed after so many years of hard study in the 
sciences and classics. 

It was well for him, too, to be relieved from the 
strain of study and pecuniary support, that had taxed 
him heavily from the outset. He had no carpenter's 
job on hand, or class to teach, for his support. For 
exercise, the beauty and grandeur of the scenery 
lured him into the fields and over the mountains. 
The wild, mountainous country around presented a 
striking contrast with the level, monotonous land- 
scape of the Western Reserve. He enjoyed explo- 
rations of the region ; climbing Greylock to its sum- 
mit that he might take in the view, plunging into 
forests, and ranging fields, until the country for miles 
around was almost as familiar to him as Orange 
township, Ohio. By the time the college term 
opened he was as familiar with the locality as any 
of the students. 

"Hill, what do you think of that westerner?" said 

one of the juniors to his classmate, Hill, a few days 

after the term began. " Got acquainted with him? ' 

" Not exactly ; haven't had time yet. Have you ? " 

" A little acquainted ; not much, though." 

"He is not a slave to the fashions, I conclude;" 

alluding; to his rather uncouth dress. 

"No; he gives tailors a wide berth, in my judg- 
ment : but he is none the worse for that. Put him 



332 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



into a tasty garb, and he would be a splendid look- 
ing fellow." 

" That's so : but neither his character nor scholar- 
ship would be improved by the change. If dress 
would improve these, some of our fellows would 
patronize tailors more than butchers, a great deal." 

"I think I shall like him, judging from a slight 
acquaintance. A little western in his speech." 

"Western provincialisms?" 

r Yes ; though not bad. Evidently he is one of 
the fellows who will go through thick and thin to 
acquire an education. There must be considerable 
to him, or he never could enter a New England col- 
lege two years in advance, especially if he prepared 
at the west." 

" Do you know where, in the west, he fitted for 
college?" 

" At a little place on the Western Reserve some- 
where ; an academy that belongs to a sect called 
Disciples. So one of the boys says." 

ff Disciples ! I never heard of that sect before, 
except the one in New Testament times. A disciple 
will work in well here ; " trying to be humorous. 

This conversation shows quite well the circum- 
stances in which James was brought into contact 
with the students. That they should scrutinize his 
apparel and appearance is not strange. James ex- 
pected that, and the thought caused him some em- 
barrassment. He knew very well that his dress 
must appear shabby to young men who consulted 
tailors, and that his speech was marred by provin- 



IN COLLEGE. 333 



cialisms that must sound queerly to them. So he 
very naturally dreaded the introduction to college 
life. Yet he proved as much of a philosopher here 
as elsewhere, and made the best of the situation. 
He was happily disappointed in his intercourse with 
students. He found no pride or caste among them. 
They treated him kindly, and gave him a hearty 
welcome to their companionship. Within a few 
weeks he ranked among the " best fellows " of the 
college. The college boys soon found that the 
" Great West " had turned out a great scholar ; that 
the student who had the least to do with tailors was 
a rare fellow ; and they treated him accordingly. 
James never had any reason to complain of his 
treatment by the faculty and students of Williams 
College. 

" He is one of the most accurate scholars I ever 
knew," said Hill to Leavitt, some weeks after James 
entered college ; M he never misses anything, and he 
never fails to answer a question." 

"That is because he knows it all," replied Leavitt. 
tf He gave me some account of his methods of study 
in preparing for college. He did it all himself, 
pretty much. He sticks to anything until he under- 
stands it fully ; that gives him the advantage now. 
He is one of the best-read students in college, and 
all that he ever read is at his tongue's end." 

" He showed that in the debate last Saturday," 
continued Hill. " His ability as a debater is supe- 
rior ; nobody in this college can compete with him." 



334 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

Reference was here made to a debate in the Philo- 
logian society of the college. 

"A born speaker, I think, It is just as easy for 
him to speak as it is to recite ; and that is easy 
enough." 

" I predict," continued Hill, " that he will stand at 
the head of our class, notwithstanding he entered 
two years in advance." 

"It looks so now. f All signs fail in a dry time,' 
it is said, but the signs certainly point that way." 

That these young men were not partial, or mis- 
taken, in their estimate of James, is evident from the 
following communication, penned by a classmate 
recently, after the lapse of twenty-five years : 

" In a class of forty or more he immediately took 
a stand above all others for accurate scholarship in 
every branch, but particularly distinguishing himself 
as a writer, reasoner, and debater. He was remark- 
able for going to the bottom of every subject which 
came before him, and seeing and presenting it in 
entirely a new light. His essays written at that 
time, not of the commonplace character too common 
in college compositions, can even now be read with 
pleasure and admiration. While an indefatigable 
worker, he was by no means a bookworm or recluse, 
but one of the most companionable of men, highly 
gifted, and entertaining in conversation, ready to 
enjoy and give a joke, and having a special faculty 
for drawing out the knowledge of those with whom 
he conversed, thus enriching his own stock of infor- 
mation from the acquirements of others. Even then 



IN COLLEGE. 35c: 



he showed that magnetic power, which he now ex- 
hibits in a remarkable degree in public life, of sur- 
rounding himself with men of various talents, and 
of employing each to the best advantage in his 
sphere. When questions for discussion arose in the 
college societies, Garfield would give each of his 
allies a point to investigate ; books and documents 
from all the libraries would be overhauled ; and the 
mass of facts thus obtained being brought together, 
Garfield would analyze the whole, assign each of 
the associates his part, and they would go into the 
battle to conquer. He was always in earnest, and 
persistent in carrying his point, often against appar- 
ently insurmountable obstacles ; and in college elec- 
tion contests (which are often more intense than 
national elections) he was always successful." 

James had taxed himself so long to his utmost 
capacity by advanced and extra studies, crowding 
six years' labor into three, that it was easy for him 
now to lead his class. He did add German to the 
regular studies of the college, and he became so 
proficient in it within one year, that he could con- 
verse considerably in the language. But all this 
was little labor in comparison with his work at Hi- 
ram. He found much time to read, and to engage 
in the sports of the Campus. The latter he enjoyed 
with a keen relish ; no one entered into them more 
heartily than he did. His college mates now recall 
with what enthusiasm he participated in their games. 
This was indispensable for his health now, as he 
had no labor with plane or hammer to perform. 



336 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

The "Williams Quarterly " was a magazine sup- 
ported by the college. James took great interest in 
it, and his compositions frequently adorned its pages, 
both prose and poetry. The following was from his 
pen in 1854 : 

" AUTUMN. 

" Old Autumn, thou art here ! Upon the earth 
And in the heavens the signs of death are hung ; 
For o'er the earth's brown breast stalks pale decay, 
And 'mong the lowering clouds the wild winds wail, 
And sighing sadly, shout the solemn dirge 
O'er Summer's fairest flowers, all faded now. 
The Winter God, descending from the skies, 
Has reached the mountain tops, and decked their brows 
With glittering frosty crowns, and breathed his breath 
Among the trumpet pines, that herald forth 
His coming. 

" Before the driving blast 
The mountain oak bow r s down his hoary head, 
And flings his withered locks to the rough gales 
That fiercely roar among his branches bare, 
Uplifted to the dark, unpitying heavens. 
The skies have put their mourning garments on, 
And hung their funeral drapery on the clouds. 
Dead Nature soon will wear her shroud of snow, 
And lie entombed in Winter's icy grave ! 

" Thus passes life. As heavy age comes on 
The joys of youth — bright beauties of the Spring — 
Grow dim and faded, and the long, dark night 
Of death's chill winter comes. But as the Spring 



IN COLLEGE. 



337 



Rebuilds the ruined wrecks of Winter's waste, 
And cheers the gloomy earth with joyous light, 
So o'er the tomb the star of hope shall rise, 
And usher in an ever-during day." 

" Garfield, what are you going to do with yourself 
this vacation?" inquired Bolter, just as the fall term 
was closing. 

" I am considering that question now. How 
should I make it teaching penmanship, do you 
think?" 

f You would do well at it ; and the vacation is 
long enough for you to teach about ten lessons." 

James was a good penman, for that day, and he 
had taken charge of a writing-class in school, for 
a time. The style of his penmanship would not be 
regarded with favor now by teachers in that depart- 
ment ; nevertheless it was a broad, clear, business 
style, that country people, at least, were then pleased 
with. 

"Think I could readily get a class?" continued 
James. 

" No doubt of it. Strike right out into the country 
almost anywhere, and y r ou will find the way open." 

"I am quite inclined to take a trip into New 
Hampshire to see what I can do. I have some dis- 
tant relatives there : my mother was born there." 

" Well, if you go where your mother was born 
you will not be likely to get into bad company, 
though there is enough of it in New Hampshire." 

" Acquainted there ? " 

22 



338 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



" As much as I want to be. There is too much 
of the pro-slavery democracy there for me ; but they 
need to improve their penmanship awfully, Garfield. 
It won't interfere with your business." 

The conversation proceeded in a kind of semi- 
jovial way until the bell rang for recitation. The 
upshot was that James opened a writing-school in 
Pownal,Vermont, instead of in New Hampshire. He 
met with some party who directed his steps to this 
small town, where he taught a large class in pen- 
manship, in the village school-house. It proved a 
profitable venture to him, both financially and so- 
cially. He added quite a little sum to his private 
treasury, besides making many warm friends and 
enlarging the sphere of his observation and experi- 
ence. 

As he spent the next winter vacation in New 
York state, we may relate the circumstances here. 
He went to Poestenkill, a country village about six 
miles from Troy, N. Y., where there was a Disci- 
ples' church, over which a preacher by the name of 
Streeter was settled. Here he opened a school of 
penmanship, thereby earning a few dollars, in addi- 
tion to paying his expenses. His efforts in the re- 
ligious conference meeting were so marked that the 
pastor invited him to occupy his pulpit on the Sab- 
bath ; and the invitation was accepted. Having 
preached once, the people demanded that he should 
preach again ; and he did. It was the common 
opinion that " he would become the most renowned 



IN COLLEGE. Q . n 



preacher in the Disciple's church," no one doubting 
that he was expecting to fill the sacred office. 

James became acquainted with several of the 
teachers and school committee at Troy, and when 
he was there one day, Rev. Mr. Brooks, one of the 
committee, surprised him by saying, 

* We have a vacancy in the high-school, and I 
would like to have you take the situation. It is an 
easy place, and a good salary of twelve hundred 
dollars." 

r You want me to begin now, I suppose? " 

" Yes ; next week the term begins." 

" I should be obliged to relinquish the idea of 
graduating at Williams." 

f That would be necessary, of course ; and per- 
haps that may be best for you." 

" No ; it seems best for me to graduate, at any 
rate ; that has been my strong desire for several 
years, and to abandon the purpose now, when I am 
just on the eve of realizing my hopes, would be very 



unwise." 



" You understand your own business best," con- 
tinued Mr. Brooks ; "but we should be very glad to 
employ you, and only wish that you could see it for 
your interest to accept our proposition." 

"There is another difficulty in the way," James 
replied. " I feel under some obligations to Hiram 
Institute, where I prepared for college. There was 
no bargain with me, and yet the trustees expect me 
to return, and take a position as teacher. That is a 



34° 



LOG-CABIN 70 WHITE HOUSE. 



young institution, struggling to live, and I have a 
desire to give my small influence to it." 

" You need not decide to-day ; think of it longer ; 
you may view the matter differently after a little 
thought," Mr. Brooks urged. 

M No ; I may just as well decide now. Your offer 
is a tempting one ; I could soon pay my debts on 
that salary. I cannot expect any such salary at 
Hiram, and I thank you with all my heart for the 
offer. But my ambition has been to win an honor- 
able diploma at an Eastern college, and then devote 
mv energies to the institute that has done so much 
for me. I must decline your alluring offer." 

James arrived at this decision quickly, because 
accepting the offer would interfere with the accom- 
plishment of the great purpose of his life. He had 
no difficulty, at any time, in rejecting any proposi- 
tion that came between him and a collegiate educa- 
tion. 

His refusal of the tempting offer was the more 
remarkable because he was in straightened circum- 
stances at the time. His brother, who had promised 
to loan him money, had become embarrassed, so 
that further aid from that quarter was out of the 
question. He needed a new suit of clothes very 
much, but he had not the money to purchase them. 
One of his friends in Poestenkill, knowing this, went 
to a tailor of his acquaintance in Troy, Mr. P. S. 
Haskell, and said : 

"We have a young man in o*ur village, a rare fel- 
low, who is poor, but honest, and he wants a suit 



IN COLLEGE. 34I 



of clothes. He is struggling to go through Williams 
College, and finds it hard sleddin'. Can you do 
anything for him? " 

'Yes ; I am willing to help such a young man to 
a suit of clothes. I will let him have a suit of 
clothes on credit," the tailor replied, promptly. 

"You will get every cent of your pay in time, I'm 
sure of that. The young man preaches some now, 
and he preaches grandly." 

"What is his name?" 

"James A. Garfield. His home is in Ohio." 

"Well, send him along." 

On the following day James called upon the tailor, 
frankly told him his circumstances, and promised to 
pay him for the clothes as early as possible. He 
could not fix the date. 

"Very well," said Mr. Haskell, who was thor- 
oughly pleased with James' appearance. "Take 
your own time ; don't worry yourself about the debt. 
Go on with your education ; and when you have 
some money that you have no other use for, pay 
me." James got his suit of clothes, returned to col- 
lege, and paid the debt in due time, to the entire 
satisfaction of the tailor. 

After returning to college, James looked about for 
pecuniary relief. Debts on his second year had al- 
ready accumulated, and now it was certain that he 
would receive no loans to meet them from his brother. 
He thought of the cordial and friendlv doctor who 
examined him about six years before, and encour- 
aged him to acquire an education, — Dr. J. P. Rob- 



34 2 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



ison, now of Cleveland, Ohio. He sat down and 
wrote to the jolly doctor, stating his pressing wants 
and future purposes, telling him of his life insurance, 
and of his expected connection with Hiram Institute 
as teacher, when he would be able to liquidate the 
debt. It is enough to say that Dr. Robison cheer- 
fully loaned him the money. 

At the close of his first collegiate year James vis- 
ited his mother in Ohio. She was then living with 
her daughter, who was married and settled in Solon. 
It is not necessary to rehearse the details of this 
visit, the reader can imagine the mutual joy it 
occasioned much better than we can describe it. 
Imagination cannot exaggerate the satisfaction his 
mother found in meeting her son again, so near the 
ministry, where she had come to think his field of 
usefulness would be found. 

In college James' anti-slavery sentiments grew 
stronger, if possible. Charles Sumner was in con- 
gress, dealing heavy blows against slavery, assailing 
the fugitive-slave bill with great power and effect, 
claiming that " freedom is national, and slavery sec- 
tional," denouncing the "crime against Kansas," 
and losing no opportunity to expose the guilt and 
horrors of southern bondage. Outside of congress 
he made speeches, urging that the whig party should 
attack and overthrow American slavery. James 
admired the fearless, grand public career of Sumner, 
and also despised the criminal support the demo- 
cratic party gave to slavery, and the truckling, 
timid, compromising course of the leaders of the 



IN COLLEGE. 343 



whig party. Then, in the fall of 1855, John z - 
Goodrich, who was a member of congress from 
western Massachusetts, delivered a political address 
in Williamstown upon the history of the Kansas- 
Nebraska struggle, and the efforts of the handful of 
republicans then in congress to defeat the Missouri 
compromise. James was profoundly impressed by 
the facts and logic of that speech, and he said to a 
classmate, on leaving the hall, 

" This subject is new to me ; I am going to know 
all about it." 

He sent for documents, studied them thoroughly, 
and was fully prepared to join the new republican 
party, and the nomination of John C. Fremont for 
president of the United States. The students called 
a meeting in support of Fremont, and James was 
invited to address them. The scope and power of 
his speech, packed with facts and history, showed 
that he had canvassed the subject with his accus- 
tomed ability ; and even his classmates, who knew 
him so well, were surprised. 

"The country wall hear from him yet, and slavery 
w r ill get some hard knocks from him," remarked a 
classmate. 

Just afterwards the country was thrown into the 
greatest excitement by the cowardly attack of Pres- 
ton Brooks, of South Carolina, upon Charles Sum- 
ner. Enraged by his attacks upon slavery, and 
urged forward, no doubt, by southern ruffians, 
Brooks attacked him with a heavy cane, while Sum- 
ner was writing at his desk in the United States 



344 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

. — < 

senate. Brooks intended to kill him on the spot, 
and his villainous purpose was nearly accomplished. 

On receipt of the news at Williams College the 
students called an indignation meeting, at which 
James, boiling over with indignant remonstrance 
against such an outrage, delivered the most telling 
and powerful speech that had fallen from his lips up 
to that time. His fellow-students listened with won- 
der and admiration. They were so completely 
charmed by his fervor and eloquence that they sat 
in breathless attention until he closed, when their 
loud applause rang through the building, repeated 
again and again in the wildest enthusiasm. 

"The uncompromising foe to slavery ! " exclaimed 
one of his admirers. 

"Old Williams will be prouder of her student 
than she is to-day, even," remarked another. 

And many were the words of surprise and gratifi- 
cation expressed, and many the prophecies con- 
cerning the future renown of young Garfield. 

We said that James rejected fiction from his read- 
ing on principle. When about half through his 
college course he found that his mind was suffering 
from excess of solid food. Mental dyspepsia was 
the consequence. His mind was not assimilating 
what he read, and was losing its power of applica- 
tion. He was advised to read fiction moderately. 
" Romance is as valuable a part of intellectual food 
as salad of a dinner. In its place, its discipline to 
the mind is equal to that of science in its place." 
He finally accepted the theory, read one volume of 



IN COLLEGE. ^45 



fiction each month, and soon found his mind return- 
ing to its former elasticity. Some of the works of 
Walter Scott, Cooper, Dickens, and Thackeray, not 
to mention others, became the cure of his mental 
malady. His method of taking notes in reading 
was systematically continued in college. Historical 
references, mythological allusions, technical terms, 
and other things, not well understood at the time, 
were noted, and afterwards looked up in the library, 
so that nothing should remain doubtful or obscure 
in his mind. "The ground his mind traversed he 
carefully cleared and plowed before leaving it for 
fresh fields." 

James graduated in 1856, bearing off the honors 
of his class. Dr. Hopkins had established the 
" metaphysical oration " as the highest honor at 
Commencement, and James won it, by the universal 
consent of the faculty and students. In the per- 
formance of his part at Commencement, he fully 
sustained his well-earned reputation for scholarship 
and eloquence. Both teachers and classmates fully 
expected, when he left college, that his name would 
appear conspicuously in the future history of his 
country. 

Dr. Hopkins wrote of him, eight years after 
James graduated : 

"The course of General Garfield has been one 
which the young men of the country may well 
emulate. ... A rise so rapid in both civil and 
military life is, perhaps, without example in the 
country. . . . Obtaining his education almost 



346 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



wholly by his own exertions, and having reached 
the age when he could fully appreciate the highest 
studies, General Garfield gave himself* to study with 
a zest and delight wholly unknown to those who 
find in it a routine. A religious man, and a man 
of principle, he pursued, of his own accord, the 
ends proposed by the institution. He was prompt, 
frank, manly, social, in his tendencies ; combining 
active exercise with habits of study, and thus did 
for himself what it is the object of a college to en- 
able every young man to do, — he made himself a 
man. There never was a time when we more 
needed those who would follow his example." 

Mr. Chadbourne, who is now president of Wil- 
liams College, and who was professor when James 
was a student, writes : 

" He graduated in 1856, soon after I began my 
work here as professor. The students who came 
under my instruction then made a much stronger 
impression upon me than those of a later day, since 
my attention has been called to other interests than 
those of the lecture-room. But Garfield, as a stu- 
dent, was one who would at any time impress him- 
self upon the memory of his instructors, by his man- 
liness and excellence of character. He was one 
whom his teachers would never suspect as guilty of 
a dishonest or mean act, and one whom a dishonest 
or mean man would not approach. College life is, 
in some respects, a severe test of character. False 
notions of honor often prevail among students, so 
that, under sanction of " college custom," things are 



IN COLLEGE. 



347 



sometimes done by young men which they would 
scorn to do in other places. There was a manliness 
and honesty about Garfield that gave him power to 
see and do what was for his own good, and the honor 
of the college. His life as a student was pure and 
noble. His moral and religious character, and 
marked intellectual ability, gave great promise of 
success in the world. His course since he entered 
active life has seemed to move on in the same line 
in which he moved here. He has been distingushed 
for hard work, clear insight into great questions 
of public interest, strong convictions, and manly 
courage. I know of no better example among our 
public men of success fairly won." 




XXII. 




RETURN TO HIRAM. 

HE trustees of Hiram Institute elected Gar- 
field " Teacher of Ancient Languages and 
Literature" before his return to the school. 
His welcome back was a hearty one. His 
acceptance of the position was equally hearty. 

His position was now a high and honorable one, 
although he was but nine years removed from the 
tow-path of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Canal. Into 
that nine years was crowded labors, struggles, and 
triumphs, the like of which we can scarcely find in 
the annals of human effort. 

" I have attained to the height of my ambition," he 
said to a friend. " I have my diploma from an 
eastern college, and my position here as instructor; 
and now I shall devote all my energies to this Insti- 
tute." 

He had no intention of entering the ministry perma- 
nently, as many supposed, nor had he aspirations for 
a political career. He was content to be a teacher 
at Hiram, ambitious to make the school the pet of 
the Western Reserve, if possible. 



He might have 



343 



RETURN TO HIRAM. 349 

secured positions where double the salary was paid ; 
but he was satisfied to teach at Hiram for eight hun- 
dred dollars a year. No board of trustees could 
lure him away by the offer of a princely income. 
His heart was at Hiram, and he meant that his best 
efforts should be there. 

He brought from Williams College a profound 
reverence for Dr. Hopkins, the president, as an in- 
structor and scholar of great ability. He profited 
by the lessons he learned at his feet, and augment- 
ed the value of his own labors by imitating him as 
far as practicable. He was not long in convincing 
the board that, successful as he was in teaching be- 
fore entering Williams College, his ability in that 
sphere was largely increased by his collegiate 
course. At the end of the first year he was 
placed at the head of the institution, with the title, 
" Chairman of the Board of Instructors," and, one 
year later was made Principal. In eleven years 
from the time he left the tow-path of the canal he 
was installed Principal of the " Eclectic Institute of 
the Western Reserve," where three hundred young 
ladies and gentlemen were pursuing a course of 
education. 

One of his successful points, as instructor, was to 
discover young men of superior talents and persuade 
them to acquire a liberal education. Sometimes 
their fathers would put a veto upon such a project, 
when he was forced to try his logic and persuasive 
powers upon them. He called this " capturing 
boys," and he enjoyed it hugely. There are many 



35° 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



bright intellects now adorning the learned profes- 
sions of the country that would have been unknown 
to fame but for his persistent efforts in " capturing " 
them. President Hinsdale, who now presides over 
Hiram College, was one of them, — one of the 
ablest and most remarkable scholars of the land. 
Garfield tells the story of the capture of two boys 
as follows : 

M I have taken more solid comfort in the thing 
itself, and received more moral recompense and 
stimulus in after life, from capturing young men for 
an education than from anything else in the world. 

" As I look back over my life thus far, I think of 
nothing that so fills me with pleasure as the plan- 
ning of these sieges, the -revolving in my mind of 
plans for scaling the walls of the fortress ; of gain- 
ing access to the inner soul-life, and at last seeing 
the besieged party won to a fuller appreciation of 
himself, to a higher conception of life, and of the 
part he is to bear in it. The principal guards 
which I have found it necessary to overcome in 
gaining these victories are the parents or guardians 
of the young men themselves. I particularly re- 
member two such instances of capturing young men 
from their parents. Both of those boys are to-day 
educators, of wide reputation, — one president of a 
college, the other high in the ranks of graded-school 
managers. Neither, in my opinion, would to-day 
have been above the commonest walks of life unless 
I, or some one else, had captured him. There is a 
period in every young man's life when a very small 



RETURN TO HIRAM. 



351 



thing will turn him one way or the other. He is 
distrustful of himself, and uncertain as to what lie 
should do. His parents are poor, perhaps, and 
argue that he has more education than they ever 
obtained, and that it is enough. These parents are 
sometimes a little too anxious in regard to what 
their boys are going to do when they get through 
with their college course. They talk to the young 
man too much, and I have noticed that the boy who 
will make the best man is sometimes most ready to 
doubt himself. I always remember the turning pe- 
riod in my own life, and pity a young man at this 
stage frcm the bottom of my heart. One of the 
young men I refer to came to me on the closing day 
of the spring term, and bade me good-by at my 
study. I noticed that he awkwardly lingered after 
I expected him to go, and had turned to my writing 
again. f I suppose you will be back again in the fall, 
Henry?' I said, to fill in the vacuum. He did not 
answer, and turning towards him, I noticed that his 
eyes were filled with tears, and that his countenance 
was undergoing contortions of pain. 

" He at length managed to stammer out, f No, I 
am not coming back to Hiram any more. Father 
says I have got education enough, and that he needs 
me to work on the farm ; that education don't help 
along a farmer any.' 

"'Is your father here?' I asked, almost as much 
affected by the statement as the boy himself. He 
was a peculiarly, bright boy, one of those strong, 
awkward, bashful, blonde, large-headed fellows, 



152 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



such as make men. He was not a prodigy by any 
means ; but he knew what work meant, and when 
he had won a thing by the true endeavor, he knew 
its value. 

" f Yes, father is here, and is taking my things 
home for good,' said the boy, more affected than 
ever. 

" ( Well, don't feel badly,' I said. ' Please tell him 
Mr. Garfield would like to see him at his study be- 
fore he leaves the village. Don't tell him that it is 
about you, but simply that I want to see him.' In 
i..e course of half an hour the old gentleman, a ro- 
bust specimen of a Western Reserve yankee, came 
into the room, and awkwardlv sat down. I knew 
something of the man before, and I thought I knew 
how to begin. I shot right at the bull's-eye imme- 
diately. 

w f So you have come up to take Henry home with 
you, have you?' The old gentleman answered 
f Yes.' f I sent for you because I wanted to have a 
little talk with you about Henry's future. He is 
coming back again in the fall, I hope?' 

r Wal, I think not. I don't reckon I can afford 
to sind him any more. He's got eddication enough 
for a farmer already, and I notice that when they git 
too much they sorter git lazy. Yer eddicated farm- 
ers are humbugs. Henry 's got so far 'long now that 
he'd rother hev his head in a book than be workin'. 
He don't take no interest in the stock nor in the farm 
improvements. Everybody else is dependent in this 
world on the farmer, and I think that we've got too 



RETURN TO HIRAM. * c * 

many eddicated fellows setting around now for the 
farmer to support.' 

* I am sorry to hear you talk so,' I said ; f for 
really I consider Henry one of the brightest and 
most faithful students I have ever had. I have taken 
a very deep interest in him. What I wanted to say 
to you was, that the matter of educating him has 
largely been a constant outgo thus far, but if he is 
permitted to come next fall term, he will be far 
enough advanced so that he can teach school in the 
winter, and begin to help himself and you along. 
He can earn very little on the farm in the winter, 
and he can get very good wages teaching. How 
does that strike you?' 

' The idea was a new and good one to him. He 
simply remarked, ' Do you really think he can teach 
next winter? ' 

" f I should think so, certainly,' I replied. 'But 
if he cannot do so then, he can in a short time, any- 
how.' 

"' Wal, I will think on it. He wants to come back 
bad enough, and I guess I'll have to let him. I 
never thought of it that way afore.' 

" I knew I was safe. It was the financial question 
that troubled the old gentleman, and I knew that 
would be overcome when Henry got to teaching, and 
could earn his money himself. He would then be so 
far along, too, that he could fight his own battles. 
He came all right the next fall, and, after finishing 
at Hiram, graduated at an Eastern college." 

"'Well, how did you manage the campaign for 

23 



354 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



capturing the other young man ? ' Garfield was 
asked. 

"Well, that was a different case. I knew that 
this youth was going to leave mainly for financial 
reasons also, but I understood his father well enough 
to know that the matter must be managed with ex- 
ceeding delicacy. He was a man of very strong 
religious convictions, and I thought he might be ap- 
proached from that side of his character ; so when I 
got the letter of the son, telling me, in the saddest 
lanp-uacre that he could master, that he could not 
come back to school any more, but must be content 
to be simply a farmer, much as it was against his 
inclination, I revolved the matter in my mind, and 
decided to send an appointment to preach in the little 
country church where the old gentleman attended. 
I took for a subject the parable of the talents, and in 
the course of my discourse dwelt specially upon the 
fact that children w T ere the talents which had been 
intrusted to parents, and if these talents were not in- 
creased and developed there was a fearful trust neg- 
lected. After church I called upon the parents of 
the boy I was besieging, and I saw that something 
was weighing upon their minds. At -length the sub- 
ject of the discourse was taken up and gone over 
again, and in due course the young man himself was 
discussed, and I gave my opinion that he should by 
all means be encouraged and assisted in taking a 
thorough course of study. I gave my opinion that 
there was nothing more important to the parent than 
to do all in his power for the child. The next term 



RETURN TO HIRAM. 355 



the young man again appeared upon Hiram Hill, 
and remained pretty continuously till graduation." 

He was wonderfully magnetic. He never failed 
to win students to himself. President Hinsdale says 
of him : 

" Naturally, Garfield" the teacher, drew his pupils 
to himself with extraordinary power. Never have I 
seen such devotion- to another teacher. An old Hi- 
ram student, now holding a responsible office in the 
public schools of Cleveland, speaking of the old 
times before Garfield went to college, says in a pri- 
vate letter : 'Then began to grow up in me an admi- 
ration and love for Garfield that has never abated, 
and the like of which I have never known. A bow 
of recognition or a single word from him was to me 
an inspiration.' And such would be the general 
testimony. In all this there was method; not the 
method of crafty art, as the cynical might say, but 
the method of nature, the method of a great mind 
and noble heart. I take my leave of this Hiram 
teacher with affirming my conviction that, other 
things being equal, Garfield has never been greater 
than he was in Hiram from 1857 to 1861. He left 
the quiet of the academy for the roar of the field and 
the forum at the age of thirty, but not until he had 
demonstrated his fitness for the highest educational 
work and honors." 

The following facts and incidents will illustrate 
some of his methods and qualities as a teacher. 

One day a pupil made a sad failure in the class, 
at least on a portion of the lesson, when Garfield 



356 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

roguishly pointed to a soiled place in one corner of 
the recitation room, where the water had trickled 
through the plastering, and run down upon the wall. 

" Look there," he said, laughing at the same time, 
and eliciting a smile from each member of the class. 
That was all he said ; but the rebuke was keen and 
sharp, coming in that way from him. Such was his 
usual method. Occasionally, however, when he 
perceived a really rebellious spirit that meant mis- 
chief, he was severe and withering in his method of 
treatment. 

He assigned a certain task to a student at one 
time, when the latter said : 

" I doubt whether I can do it. I do not think I 
am equal to it." 

"Not equal to it?" 

« No, sir." 

" Darsie ! " answered Garfield ; " when I get into 
a place that I can easily fill, I always feel like shov- 
ing out of it into one that requires of me more exer- 
tion." 

In this single sentence was one of the secrets of 
his success ; and Darsie saw it at once. Garfield 
had risen rapidly by setting his standard high, and 
bringing himself up to it. 

Akin to this, he said to the students on one occa- 
sion, 

"I shall give you a series of lectures upon his- 
tory, beginning next week. I do this not alone to 
assist you ; the preparation for the lectures will 
compel me to study history." 



RETURN TO HIRAM. 357 

It was not the mere announcement that was inter- 
esting ; it was a method of his to show his pupils 
the best plan of study. He could do more and bet- 
ter work under a necessity than otherwise ; and so 
can every one. It was his custom to lecture on the 
topics he desired to study particularly, that he might 
derive the benefit of a two-fold object. He wanted 
his pupils to appreciate the advantage of it. 

" How in the world can he time his steps so as to 
take the last one just as the bell stops?" remarked 
a student, referring to his coming into the chapel- 
exercises and taking his seat precisely as the bell 
ceased. 

" Hard telling," replied Darsie ; "but he is always 
on the stairs in the last half of the last minute, and 
glides into his seat just as the last tap of the bell is 
struck." The last stroke of the bell was indicated 
by a little more vigorous pull of the rope. 

"And what seems marvellous to me is, that he 
never fails. I could n't time my steps like that," 
added the student. 

Garfield insisted upon punctuality everywhere, — 
at prayers, recitation, lectures, all engagements. He 
demanded promptness as an essential duty. He 
made his pupils feel the importance of these qualities. 
But he would not require of them what he did not 
practice himself. He was the last man to preach 
what he did not practice. So he illustrated, every- 
day, by personal example, the lessons which he 
taught respecting these virtues. 

Returning from a neighboring town one morn- 



353 



LOG-CABIN 10 WHITE HOUSE. 



ing, where he lectured on the previous evening, he 
entered his recitation room late. Another teacher, 
supposing he would not return in season to hear 
the recitation, had taken his class. As he entered, a 
pupil was answering a question. While in the act 
of removing his overcoat, and precisely as the pupil's 
answer ceased, Garfield put another question in the 
same line, as if the previous question were put by 
himself. He smiled, the teacher laughed and bowed 
himself out of the room, and the class roared. It 
was a happy termination of a single act of tardiness. 

He was accustomed to lecture to his pupils upon 
"manners," "elements of success," and kindred top- 
ics. One day his topic was the " Turning Point of 
Life," in which he said, 

" The comb of the roof at the court house at Ra- 
venna (capital of Portage county, of which Hiram 
was a town) divides the drops of rain, sending those 
that fall on the south side to the Gulf of Mexico, 
and those on the opposite side into the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence, so that a mere breath of air, or the flut- 
ter of a bird's wing, may determine their destiny. It 
is so with your lives, my young friends. A passing 
event, perhaps of trifling importance in your view, 
the choice of a book or companion, a stirring thought, 
a right resolve, the associations of an hour, may 
prove the turning point of your lives." 

During his connection with the school as princi- 
pal his lectures were numerous. He lectured upon 
the natural sciences, reading, books, government, 
and occasional " topics of the times." He delivered 



RETURN TO HIRAM. 359 



many lectures in Portage county, and in neighbor- 
ing counties, before literary societies ; lectures upon 
geology, illustrated by charts of his own making, 
"Character and Writings of Sir Walter Scott," 
"Character of the German People,'* and " Carlyle's 
Frederic the Great." He was the most popular lec- 
turer in Ohio. Crossing swords with William Den- 
ton, the skeptic, brought him into great notoriety. 
" He held a debate with Denton on the question of 
Whether all life upon the earth was developed by 
processes of law, or had been introduced by succes- 
sive creative acts. Denton held the development 
theory ; Garfield that of intelligent, providential ac- 
tion. The discussion lasted five days and evenings, 
embraced twenty speeches on the part of each of the 
disputants, and was remarkable as a sustained and 
severe intellectual effort." It won laurels for Garfield 
as a debater and man of giant intellect. 

Says Rev. J. L. Darsie, who was one of his pu- 
pils, " His lectures to the school were upon all sorts 
of subjects, and were generally the result of his 
readings and observation. One season he took a 
trip, and, on his return, gave a very interesting series 
on " The Chain of Lakes," including Niagara, Thou- 
sand Islands, and sub-historic points. One lecture 
on aerolites I shall never forget. He gave several 
upon Ordnance, about the time of the attack upon 
Fort Sumter. ^Esthetics came in for a share of treat- 
ment, with others on the personal habits of the stu- 
dents ; and they were very effective. He lectured 
upon any and every scientific subject." 



360 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

A large number of students were always in attend- 
ance, who paid their way along by teaching school 
in the winter. To these he gave lectures on the art 
of teaching. Mr. Darsie says: "At each lecture he 
appointed one or two pupils to bring in a review of 
the lecture in writing, on a succeeding morning, and 
these reviews were read to the school. I now recall 
one of the most successful journalists of our land, 
who began his training here. In all he said or did 
Garfield had the remarkable power of impressing 
himself and his thoughts upon his hearers, by his 
manners, gestures, tone of voice, and the freshness 
of his style. It was customary to act plays on com- 
mencement occasions, and the drama, in its more 
moral and high-toned phases, was encouraged. 
Often the play was original, and always subject to 
the strictures of the faculty, as were all the public 
performances. Garfield, when a student, was one 
of the most successful in delineating character. He 
could impersonate almost any character, and was 
amazingly successful in this role." 

He delivered also many extemporaneous speeches 
on social and literary occasions, and even in political 
campaigns. He studied law, also, while he was 
teacher at Hiram, doing it by the improvement of 
odd moments, and by burning midnight-oil. He 
was admitted to the bar before he exchanged the 
quiet of teaching for the roar of battle. He studied 
law, "not so much with the intention of becoming a 
lawyer as to acquaint himself with the principles of 
law. He had no idea of abandoning his chosen 



RETURN TO HIRAM. 



361 



profession to spend his energies in law-practice, but 
the principles of law were needed to round his 
knowledge, and increase his power." 

As a Christian man, his influence was grand and 
ennobling, and his labors as a preacher are to be 
added to the mass of his other labors. He often 
preached in the Disciples' church at Hiram, and 
at one time he preached regularly at Solon and 
Newburg, whither he went on Saturday night, re- 
turning on Monday morning. He preached more 
or less throughout the county. Preaching and lec- 
turing in other towns, near and remote, spread a 
knowledge of the school, and made it popular. He 
required his pupils to observe the highest standard 
of moral conduct, and his counsel here was frequent 
and direct. His favorite hymn at chapel-service 
was, " Ho ! reapers of Life's Harvest," etc., and he 
joined in the singing with a will. He often re- 
quested the students to sing this hymn at morning 
devotions, allowing them to sit until they came to 
the last verse, when he would rap upon the desk 
with his knuckles, and the school would rise and 
sing the last verse standing. 

He married Miss Rudolph, the lady to whom he 
was engaged before entering college, on November 
11, 1S58. Her efficient co-operation enabled him 
to accomplish so large an amount of labor. Often, 
in the preparation of a lecture or speech, his wife 
and Miss Booth would explore the library for him, 
or examine certain books which he designated. The 
number of books that he perused in a year was al- 



362 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

most incredible. Going from the library with his 
arms full of volumes was a common spectacle. Mr. 
Darsie has seen him on his way to the library, in the 
rain, returning ten or twelve volumes, a student 
walking by his side, holding an umbrella over his 
head. Some books awakened his enthusiasm ; he 
read them more than once. Such books as "Tom 
Brown's School Days," won his admiration. He 
told his pupils that every one of them ought to read 
the work carefully. Macaulay's works, and Mills, 
and works of kindred ability and value, he particu- 
larly enjoyed and recommended. 

In those days Commencement exercises brought 
together from five to ten thousand people. They 
came from fifty miles around. A large tent was 
pitched over a stage, on which the literary exercises 
were performed. Booths for refreshments were 
erected here and there, and often showmen would 
appear upon the ground. Roughs and intoxicated 
persons sometimes appeared in large numbers, caus- 
ing disturbance, and sadly marring the harmony of 
the occasion. But after Garfield became principal 
these scenes stopped. The pointing of his finger, 
or the waving of his hand, when disturbance broke 
out in any quarter, quelled it at once. Roughs ap- 
peared to understand that his authority could not be 
trifled with on such occasions. 

We shall close this chapter by another quotation 
from Rev. Mr. Darsie : 

" No matter how old the pupils were, Garfield al- 
ways called us by our first names, and kept himself 



RETURN TO HIRAM. 



363 



on the most familiar terms with all. He played with 
us freely, scuffled with us sometimes, walked with 
us in walking to and fro, and we treated him out of 
the class just about as we did one another. Yet he 
was a most strict disciplinarian, and enforced the 
rules like a martinet. He combined an affectionate 
and confiding manner with respect for order, in a 
most successful way. If he wanted to speak to a 
pupil, either for reproof or approbation, he would 
generally manage to get one arm around him, and 
draw him close up to him. He had a peculiar way 
of shaking hands, too, giving a twist to your arm, 
and drawing you right up to him. This sympathetic 
manner has helped him to advancement. When I 
w r as janitor he used sometimes to stop me and ask 
my opinion about this and that, as if seriously ad- 
vising with me. I can see now that my opinion 
could not have been of any value, and that he prob- 
ably asked me, partly to increase my self-respect 
and partly to show me that he felt an interest in me. 
I certainly was his friend all the firmer for it. 

" I remember once asking him what was the best 
way to pursue a certain stud}', and he said : f Use 
several text-books ; get the views of different au- 
thors as you advance ; in that way you can plow 
a broader furrow. I always study in that way.' He 
tried hard to have us observe carefully and accu- 
rately. He broke out one day in the midst of a les- 
son with, 'Henry, how many posts are there under 
the building down-stairs?' Henry expressed his 
opinion, and the question went round the class, 



364 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

hardly one getting it right. Then it was, f How 
many boot-scrapers are there at the door?' f How 
many windows in the building?' f How many trees 
in the field?' r What were the colors of particu- 
lar rooms, and the peculiarities of any familiar ob- 
jects?' He was the keenest observer I ever saw. 
I think he observed, and numbered, every button on 
our coats. A friend of mine was walking with him 
through Cleveland, one day, when Garfield stopped 
and darted down a cellar-way, asking his companion 
to follow, and briefly stopping to explain himself. 
The sign, 'Saws and Files ' was over the door, and 
in the depths was heard a regular clicking sound. 
' I think this fellow is cutting files,' said he, f and I 
have never seen a file cut.' Down, they went, and, 
sure enough, there was a man re-cutting an old file, 
and they stayed there ten minutes, and found out all 
about the process. Garfield would never go by any- 
thing without understanding it." 




XXIII. 



TOP OF THE LADDER. 




r was impossible for a public speaker of 
Garfield's power to keep out of politics. 
In political campaigns the public demand 
his efforts ; men will not take no for an 
answer. It was so with Garfield. He was impressed 
into the service by leading citizens of his county. 
In the autumn after his return to Hiram, before he 
hardly had time to become settled in his great work, 
his efforts on the platform were sought ; and the new 
Republican party, on the anti-slavery basis, with its 
first candidate, John C.Fremont, a man of Garfield's 
stamp in vigor, courage, and force of character, was 
exceedingly taking to him. Nobody had to tease 
him long for a speech. Often he went in the even- 
ing to make a speech, five, six, ten miles distant, 
returning after the address. Usually he took a stu- 
dent with him for company and improvement. As 
soon as they started he would open conversation, 
seldom upon the subject of his discourse, but upon 
some topic of real value to the student. Going and 

365 



366 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

returning his conversation was continued without 
the least abatement. 

Alphonso Hart, a stalwart Democrat of Ravenna, 
delivered a speech in Hiram, full of slavery and 
Democratic sophistries and errors. Garfield heard 
it, with many Republican citizens. 

" Reply to it, Mr. Garfield," appealed an influen- 
tial citizen to him. w Floor him." 

" That can easily t>e done," Garfield answered ; 
" but is it wise ? " 

" It is always wise to refute error and wrong any- 
where." 

" I confess that I should enjoy handling him with- 
out gloves for an hour." 

" Handle him, then," urged the citizen. " It will 
do the Republican party a world of good." 

Other citizens put in their pleas for him to answer 
Hart. 

" You are just the one to do it." 

" Everybody wants you should answer him." 

" It will make votes for Fremont." 

" Come now, do gratify the public desire." 

In this way Garfield was beset with pleas to 
answer the Democratic orator ; and he consented. 
The meeting was in the Disciples church, and it 
was packed to its utmost capacity. Garfield's reply 
was devoid of all bitterness, but was powerful with 
logic and facts. He hauled over the record of the 
Democratic party, with its indorsement of slavery 
with all its horrors, and he made that record appear 
black enough. The effort was both able and trium- 



TOP OF THE LADDER. 



367 



phant, and the fame of it rapidly spread through- 
out the county. Appeals for more speeches came 
in from all the region about, and finally a discus- 
sion was arranged between Garfield and Hart, to 
take place at Garrettsville on a given day. Crowds 
flocked to hear the debate. Garfield was in his ele- 
ment on that day, for he had posted himself thor- 
oughly upon the history of the Democratic party, 
and the aims of its southern leaders to make 
slavery national. His antagonist was completely 
discomfited in the discussion. He had counted 
without his host. He was floored. Garfield's suc- 
cess lifted him at once into enviable notoriety as a 
political debater and orator, and, from that time, 
remarks like the following were common : 

" He must go to the legislature." 

" We must send him to congress." 

"Just the man to follow that old anti-slavery war- 
horse, Giddings." 

"You'll see him President yet." 

And so the enthusiastic awakening expended itself, 
in a measure, upon Garfield's supposed future ca- 
reer. One year later the position of representative 
to the State legislature was tendered him. 

"No; my work is here in the Institute. I have 
no ambition to enter political life. I must decline 
the proposition." Garfield thus replied out of an 
honest heart. 

Again and again he was urged to accept the po- 
sition, but to every one his answer was the same. 

"My work is here, and my heart is here, and my 
duty is here." No appeals could move him. 



$68 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



In 1859 the faculty of Williams College invited 
him to deliver the master's oration on Commence- 
ment day. It was a rare compliment the faculty paid 
to him by this invitation, for it was but three years 
after he was graduated. Accepting the invitation, 
and preparing himself carefully for the occasion, he 
left Hiram for Williamstown, Massachusetts, accom- 
panied by his wife, taking the first pleasure-trip of 
his life. He descended the St. Lawrence river to 
Quebec, and then crossed the New England states 
to his destination. A warm welcome awaited him 
there. Nor were the numerous friends who gath- 
ered disappointed in the orator of the day. His 
praises were on every lip. 

On his return, when he had reached Mentor, in 
his own state, a delegation of citizens met him with 
an unexpected proposition. 

" We want you to become a candidate for state 
senator." 

" Indeed ! " exclaimed Garfield, very much sur- 
prised by the proposition. " I thought Mr. Prentiss 
was the man." 

" Mr. Prentiss has just died, very suddenly." 

Mr. Prentiss was a man well advanced in life, a 
very popular citizen of Ravenna, whose re-election 
had been determined upon. But his sudden death 
frustrated their plans ; and now all hearts turned to 
the young principal of Hiram Institute. 

" You are the first choice of the leading Repub- 
licans of the district." 

"I thank you sincerely for thinking of me, and, 



TOP OF THE LADDER. 369 

really, it is a temptation to receive this offer ; but I 
do not see how I can consistently consent." 

mi 

"Your name will enable us to carry the district 
for the Republicans easily," urged another one of 
the delegation. " I hope you will not decline with- 
out giving the subject some thought." 

"Yes; but my thought is of the Institute. How 
can I accept your proposition and discharge my 
duties to the school." 

. "Your duties in the senate will keep you away 
but a few weeks. Suppose you take the subject into 
consideration, confer with the faculty, and let us 
have your decision a week hence." 

The last speaker knew that some members of the 
faculty and board of trustees, were anxious that he 
should accept the nomination. 

To this last suggestion Garfield yielded, and the 
matter was laid before the faculty and trustees. To 
his surprise all of them urged him to consent to the 
use of his name. Teachers volunteered to do extra 
work in his absence, and all were willing to contrib- 
ute service, so as to make it possible for him to go. 

Garfield was pressed into this political service, 
and received the nomination. He was present, by 
request, at the nominating convention, and while the 
business was in progress a delegate, who saw the 
youthful candidate on that day for the first time, re- 
marked to a leading Republican : 

" Don't you make a mistake in putting forward so 
young a man for senator?" 
24 



370 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" Only young in years ; he is not young in abil- 
ity," was the prompt reply. 

" I don't know about that ; unless his looks belie 
him his experience in public life must be rather 
limited." 

"You wait and see. We shall hear from him 
when this business is through, and you will be satis- 
fied that his head is old, though his body is young." 

After the nomination, according to the custom that 
prevailed, Garfield accepted it in a characteristic 
speech. The delegate who doubted the wisdom of 
the nomination immediately said to the Republican 
to whom his doubts were expressed, 

" I am perfectly satisfied ; he is a power." 

Garfield was elected by a very large majority, 
and took his seat in the state senate, January, 
i860. It was a time of great excitement. The 
south was threatening secession and civil war, if 
a Republican should be elected president in the ap- 
proaching campaign. The north was fully aroused 
to check the incursions of slavery, by a bold and 
victorious advance. Garfield was just the man to 
occupy a seat in the state senate at such a time, 
though he was the youngest member of the body. 
There was another able young man in the senate 
with him, as radical as himself, Jacob D. Cox, after- 
wards major-general, governor of Ohio, and Secre- 
tary of the Interior, The two roomed together, and 
were as intimate as brothers. Some of the members 
called them "Damon and Pythias." There was still 
another young man, Professor Munroe of Oberlin 



TOP OF THE LADDER. 



371 



College, an institution that was founded on anti-slav- 
ery principles, and whose teachers were as one with 
Garfield on the great national question that over- 
topped all others — liberty. Cox himself was the 
son-in-law of an Oberlin professor. These three 
senators stood shoulder to shoulder against slavery, 
and were called the " radical triumvirate." 

Garfield took rank at once with the ablest speak- 
ers in that body. President Hinsdale says, "He 
was a valuable man on committees and in party 
counsels. No senator was more frequently called to 
his counsels by the president of the senate when 
knotty points of order w r ere to be untied or cut." 

In a previous chapter we learned that Garfield 
visited Columbus with his mother, and saw the 
legislature in session. Little did he dream, or his 
mother, that in less than ten years he would be a 
leading member of that senate, his eloquence ring- 
ing through those halls, and his wise counsels and 
patriotic efforts preparing the state to oppose rebel- 
lion with great power ; yet so it was. One of the 
most marvellous examples of success on record ! 

During his second term in the senate, 1861, he 
was confronted by the gravest questions that state or 
nation ever have to deal with. Lincoln had been 
elected president, the southern states were preparing 
to secede, and civil war was imminent. ff Shall 
Ohio prepare for war?" "Has a state the right to 
secede?" "Can a state be coerced?" " Shall we 
punish treason ? " These were among the questions 
the young senator was compelled to discuss. Al- 



3 h 2 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

most night and day he labored to qualify himself to 
discuss them intelligently and ably. Night after 
night, until eleven, twelve, and even one o'clock, he 
spent in the state library, studying these and kin- 
dred questions. Whenever he spoke upon them, he 
spoke pointedly, and with great power. He led the 
senate in its patriotic stand against secession and 
compromise with slavery. He denounced Buchanan, 
the Democratic president, who was favoring the 
secessionists, and characterized Cobb, who robbed 
the national treasury, and Floyd, who stole the 
arms from every northern arsenal, and Toucy, who 
sent the ships of the navy as far away as possible — 
all members of the Democratic cabinet — he char- 
acterized them as traitors to their country. In a 
speech that blazed with fervid eloquence, he told a 
Democratic senator, Judge Key, of Cincinnati, "To 
remember whose cabinet it was that had embraced 
traitors among its most distinguished members, and 
sent them forth from its most secret sessions to be- 
tray their knowledge to their country's ruin ! " 

When congress very unwisely proposed a " Con- 
stitutional Amendment," prohibiting further legisla- 
tion upon slavery in the states, — a measure 
designed to placate the secessionists, — Garfield de- 
nounced it in the Ohio senate as a compromise with 
traitors, an unpatriotic and base surrender to the 
slave oligarchy. He declared that his arm should 
wither in its socket before it should be lifted in fa\or 
of a measure that virtually abandoned liberty, and 
left slavery master of the situation. 'The events 



TOP OF THE LADDER. 373 



now transpiring make it clear that this is no time 
for any such amendment," he exclaimed. ''Would 
you give up the forts and other government prop- 
erty, or would you fight to maintain your right to 
them ? " 

When the vote was taken, Garfield, with six 
others, recorded their names against the "base sur- 
render." He opposed the meeting of the famous 
Washington Peace Commissioners until after the in- 
auguration of Mr. Lincoln ; he protested against all 
such " peace measures " as cowardly and futile, pre- 
ferring himself to stand by the old flag, and fight for 
human rights. 

Before this he was satisfied that war could not be 
averted. Late one night he said to his room- 
mate : 

" Cox, war is inevitable." 

" That is sure as you live," answered Cox. 

" You and I must fight." 

"Or prove ourselves cowards." 

"Here, then, we pledge our lives to our country 
in this hour of peril." And they clasped hands 
silently, such emotions stirring their breasts as pa- 
triots only feel in the solemn hour of danger. 

News of the firing upon Fort Sumter was followed 
immediately by a call from President Lincoln for 
seventy-five thousand men. The call was read in 
the Ohio senate, crowded with patriotic spectators, 
whose tumultuous applause seconded the president's 
demand. As soon as the deafening cheers had sub- 
sided Garfield sprang to his feet, and in a short 



374 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

speech, of almost surpassing eloquence and power, 
moved, 

"That Ohio contribute twenty thousand men, and 
three million dollars, as 'the quota of the state." 

The motion was carried amid the wildest demon- 
strations of devotion to the country. 

Governor Dennison, of Ohio, sent Garfield to Mis- 
souri to obtain five thousand stand of arms, a portion 
of those which General Lyon removed from the 
arsenal at St. Louis. He was successful in his mis- 
sion, shipped the guns, and saw them safely deliv- 
ered at Columbus. 

After the fall of Sumter, Governor Dennison sent 
him to Cleveland, to organize the seventh and 
eighth regiments of Ohio infantry. Having organ- 
ized them, the governor offered him the colonelcy 
of one of them ; but he declined the offer because 
he lacked " military experience." He promised to 
take a subordinate position, however, provided a 
West Point graduate was placed in command. The 
result was, that the governor appointed him lieu- 
tenant-colonel, and sent him to the Western Reserve 
to recruit a regiment, promising him a West Pointer 
to command it if one could be found. Garfield sug- 
gested his old friend and schoolmate, Captain Ha- 
zen, then in the regular army ; but when the gov- 
ernor sent to the war department for his transfer, 
General Scott refused to release him. So the forty- 
second Ohio regiment, recruited by Garfield, and 
embracing a large number of Hiram students, went 
into camp at .Columbus without a colonel. It was 



TOP OF THE LADDER. 375 

in these circumstances, and after repeated requests 
from officers and members of the regiment, that 
Garfield consented to take the command. 

We have not space for details. Garfield proved 
himself as victorious in war as he had been success- 
ful in peace. In less than one month after he went 
into action with his regiment, under the orders of 
General Buell, he fought the battle of Middle 
Creek, January 10, 1862, driving the rebel general 
Marshall, whose forces largely outnumbered his, 
out of his intrenchments, compelling him to retreat 
into Virginia. Other victories followed, in what 
was called the " Sandy Valley campaign," eliciting 
from the commanding general a congratulatory or- 
der, in which he spoke of the expedition as " calling 
into action the highest qualities of a soldier — forti- 
tude, perseverance, courage." For his bravery and 
military skill in this campaign the authorities at 
Washington made Garfield a brigadier-general, 
dating his commission back to January 10, 1862, 
the day of the battle of Middle Creek. As Garfield 
was the youngest member of the Ohio senate, so 
now he became the youngest brigadier-general in 
the army. 

Subsequently he was made major-general "for 
gallant and meritorious services at the battle of 
Chickamauo-a." The antecedents of that famous 
battle, under General Rosecrans, show that the vic- 
tory was due more to the sagacity, plans, and cour- 
age of General Garfield than to any other officer. 



376 LOG-CAB/N TO WHITE HOUSE. 

Within about one year and a half, he rose from 
a lieutenant-colonelcy to a major-general. 

In the summer of 1862 leading republicans of the 
nineteenth Ohio congressional district nominated 
Garfield to represent them in congress. They re- 
garded him as the man above all others in the dis- 
trict qualified to succeed Joshua R. Giddings, of 
whom they were justly proud. Giddings was super- 
seded four years before by John Hutchins, with 
whom the republicans were not satisfied. The 
movement for Garfield was undertaken without his 
knowledge. He was at the head of his command 
in Kentucky. The knowledge of his great abilities, 
and his military fame, led to his nomination. At 
first he thought he must decline the honor, and fight 
out the battles of his country. He was very popular 
in the army, both with officers and soldiers, — his 
pay, too, was double that of a congressman, and he 
was poor and needed the greater salary, — and there 
was no doubt that the highest honors awaited him 
should he continue on the field until the end of the 
war. The reader can readily see that to accept the 
nomination in these circumstances, was an act of 
great self-denial. But President Lincoln signified 
his desire for Garfield to enter congress, as a mem- 
ber of military experience and skill was much 
needed there. The wishes of Lincoln settled the 
doubts of Garfield, and he accepted the nomination, 
was triumphantly elected, and took his seat in the 
national house of representatives in December, 1863, 



TOP OF THE LADDER. ^77 



after two years and three months of service in the 
army. 

During this time the trustees of Hiram Institute 
had not abandoned the idea of his return to the in- 
stitution. While a member of the Ohio senate he 
continued his connection with the school, when the 
senate was not in session. One interesting item of 
his thoroughness in teaching belongs to this part of 
his career. He was teaching a class how to write 
letters, and having taught them how to address dif- 
ferent classes of friends and relatives, how to super- 
scribe letters, &c, illustrating the same on the 
blackboard, he requested each one to write a letter 
to him at Columbus. In due time the letters were 
written, and forwarded. Subsequently they were 
returned to the authors, corrected. 

During his first two years in congress his name 
appeared on the catalogue of Hiram Institute as 
"Advisory Principal and Lecturer." He has been a 
member of the board of trustees ever since. For 
seventeen years he served his district as national 
representative. We have not space for any of the 
brilliant record of those seventeen years. We can 
only say, that he became the acknowledged leader 
of the national house of representatives ; the pride 
of his native state, Ohio, and an honor to the re- 
public. 

His great popularity and usefulness as represent- 
ative very naturally suggested his name to the Repub- 
licans of Ohio, when a United States Senator was 
to be elected by the legislature in January, 1880, 



378 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



to succeed Mr. Thurman. When the subject was 
opened to Garfield, he remarked, 

"Just as you please ; if my friends think it best, I 
shall make no objection." 

" We want you should go to Columbus when the 
election is pending." 

"I cannot consent to any such plan. I shall not 
lift my finger for the office. I never sought an 
office yet, except that of janitor at Hiram Institute. 
If the people want me, they will elect me." 

" Very true," urged his friends ; " it is no engi- 
neering or finesse that we desire you to do at Colum- 
bus. We only want you to be where your friends 
can see you and confer with you." 

"And that will be construed into work for the 
office, the very appearance of which is distasteful 
to me. I decline peremptorily to go to Columbus." 
This was Garfield's characteristic decision and reply. 

When the legislature assembled the feeling was 
so strong for Garfield that all other candidates with- 
drew, and he was nominated by acclamation at the 
party caucus, and unanimously elected. 

After the election was over he visited Columbus, 
and addressed both branches of the legislature in 
joint convention. The closing paragraph of his re- 
markable speech illustrates the courage and inde- 
pendence of the man; qualities that have recom- 
mended him to the confidence and support of the 
people. He said, 

" During the twenty years that I have been in 
public life, almost eighteen of it in the congress of 



TOP OF THE LADDER. 379 



the United States, I have tried to do one thino-. 
Whether I was mistaken or otherwise, it has been 
the plan of my life to follow my conviction, at what- 
ever personal cost to myself. I have represented 
for many years a district in congress whose appro- 
bation I greatly desired ; but though it may seem, 
perhaps, a little egotistical to say it, I yet desired 
still more the approbation of one person, and his 
name was Garfield. He is the only man that I am 
compelled to sleep with, and eat with, and live with, 
and die with ; and if I could not have his appro- 
bation I should have bad companionship." 

In view of this last triumph President Hinsdale 
said, 

" He has commanded success. His ability, knowl- 
edge, mastery of questions, generosity of nature, 
devotion to the public good, and honesty of purpose, 
have done the work. He has never had a political 
f machine.' He has never forgotten the day of small 
things. It is difficut to see how a political triumph 
could be more complete or more gratifying than his 
election to the senate. No bargains, no c slate,' no 
r grocery,' at Columbus. He did not even go to the 
capital city . Such things are inspiring to those who 
think politics in a bad way. He is a man of posi- 
tive convictions, freely uttered. Politically, he may 
be called a f man of war ; ' and yet few men, or none, 
begrudge him his triumph. Democrats vied with 
Republicans the other day, in Washington, in their 
congratulations ; some of them were as anxious for 
his election as any Republican could be. It is said 



380 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

that he will go to the senate without an enemy on 
either side of the chamber. These things are hon- 
orable to all parties. They show that manhood is 
more than party." 

And so James, the hero of our tale, stands upon 
the highest round of the ladder of fame, save one ! 

The final step to the top of the ladder followed 
quickly ; so quickly that he had not time to take 
his seat in the United States senate. He had but 
just planted his feet upon the highest round of the 
ladder, save one, when the call to come up higher — 
to the top — was heard from Maine to the Golden 
Gate. 

The National Republican Convention, five months 
later, assembled to nominate a candidate for the 
presidency of the United States. James A. Garfield 
was a member of that convention, and his magnetic 
presence was the occasion of much enthusiasm and 
applause. Although he was not a candidate for the 
position, whenever he arose to speak, or moved 
about in the vast audience* he was greeted with 
hearty cheers. He was evidently en ra£j)07't with 
the crowded assembly. After thirty-four ineffectual 
ballots for a candidate, about fifty members of the 
convention cast their votes for James A. Garfield in 
the thirty-fifth ballot. The announcement created 
a furor of excitement, as it indicated a breaking up 
of the factions, and a probable union of all upon 
the most popular Republican in the convention. In- 
stantly the delegates of one state seized their banner 
with a shout, (the delegates of each state sat to- 



TOP OF THE LADDER. 



38 I 



gether, their banner bearing the name of their state,) 
bore it proudly forward, and placed it over the head 
of the aforesaid patriot and statesman, followed by 
other delegations, and still others, until seven hun- 
dred delegates upon the floor, and fifteen thousand 
spectators in the galleries, joined in the remarkable 
demonstration, and cheer upon cheer rent the air, as 
the banners, one after another, were placed in tri- 
umph over the head of their hero, declaring to the 
world, without the use of language, that James A. 
Garfield was the choice of the convention for Presi- 
dent of the United States ; the magnificent ovation 
terminating by the several bands striking up " Rally 
Round the Flag," fifteen thousand voices joining in 
the chorus, and a section of artillery outside con- 
tributing its thundering bass to the outburst of joy. 
It was a wild, tumultuous scene of excitement, the 
spontaneous outburst of patriotic devotion to the 
country, such as never transpired in any political 
assembly before, and, probably, never will again. 
It was something more, and different from the usual 
excitement and passion of political assemblies ; it 
was an inspiration of the hour, begotten and moved 
by more than mortal impulse, — the interposition of 
Him who has guided and saved our country from 
its birth ! 

That spontaneous burst of enthusiam really nomi- 
nated General Garfield for President. The thirty- 
sixth ballot, that followed immediately, was only a 
method of registering the decision of that supreme 
moment. 



382 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

The news of General Garfield's nomination flew 
with the speed of electricity over the land, creating 
unbounded joy from Plymouth Rock to the Pacific 
Slope. The disappointments and animosities of a 
heated campaign vanished at once before the con- 
ceded worth and popularity of the candidate. Par- 
tisans forgot the men of their choice, in their glad- 
ness that union and harmony signalized the close of 
the most remarkable political convention en record. 

He was elected President of the United 
States on the second day of November, 
eighteen hundred and eighty. 

He carried twenty of the thirty-eight states, secur- 
ing 213 of the 369 electors. In his native town of 
Orange every ballot w r as cast for him. 

He will oocupy the White House on the fourth 
day of March, eighteen hundred and eighty-one ! 

Reader ! Was there ever a more marvelous jour- 
ney of life than that which we have described in this 
book — from the Log Cabin to the White House ? * 

* The President's house, called White House from the color of 
the freestone of which it is built. 




XXIV. 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 




FITTING close of this volume is a col- 
lection of incidents from Garfield's public 
life, illustrative of the qualities we have 
traced in his early struggles for a liveli- 
hood and education. They will serve to establish, 
more fully if possible, the drift of our effort; viz., 
" The boy is father of the man." 

The thoughtful consideration that he devoted to 
issues of importance, and the deep reverence for the 
Scriptures that was begotten in his soul by maternal 
training and the grace of God, appeared in the cur- 
rent of his thoughts and acts after he had determined 
to enter the army. He went to his home at night 
thinking of his dear mother and dearer wife and 
child, as well as the small property he should leave 
them if he laid down his life on the battle-field. 
Opening the Bible which his mother gave him, to 
see what it would say to him upon the subject, he 
read, and read, and every passage seemed like the 
voice of God, saying to him, " Go ! Go ! " Far into 

333 



384 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

the night he thought and read, and read and thought, 
more and more satisfied that his decision was in the 
path of duty; and, before the dawn of morning, he 
wrote to a near friend as follows : 

"I have had a curious interest in watching the pro- 
cess, in my own mind, by which the fabric of my life 
is being demolished and reconstructed, to meet the 
new condition of affairs. One by one my old plans 
and aims, modes of thought and feeling, are found 
to be inconsistent with present duty, and are set 
aside to give place to the new structure of military 
life. It is not without a regret, almost tearful at 
times, that I look upon the ruins. But if, as the re- 
sult of the broken plans and shattered individual 
lives of thousands of American citizens, we can see 
on the ruins of our own national errors a new and 
enduring fabric arise, based on larger freedom and 
higher justice, it will be a small sacrifice indeed. 
For myself, I am contented with such a prospect, 
and, regarding my life as given to the country, am 
only anxious to make as much of it as possible be- 
fore the mortgage upon it is foreclosed." 

When he went into camp, to drill his regiment 
before joining the army, his thoroughness and sys- 
tematic way of doing things, as well as his tact and 
use of carpenters' tools, came into immediate use. 
He was ignorant of military tactics, and so he sat 
down first to the task of instructing himself before 
he undertook the instruction of his regiment. 
" Bringing his saw and jack-plane again into play, 
he fashioned companies, officers, and non-commis- 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 385 

sioned officers, out of maple blocks, and, with these 
wooden-headed troops, thoroughly mastered the in- 
fantry tactics in his quarters. Then he organized a 
school for the officers of his regiment, requiring thor- 
ough recitation in the tactics, and illustrating the ma- 
noeuvres by the blocks he had prepared for his own 
instruction. This done, he instituted regimental, 
company, squad, skirmish, and bayonet drill, and 
kept his men at these exercises from six to eight 
hours a day, until it was universally admitted that 
no better drilled or disciplined regiment could be 
found in Ohio." 

His decision and force of character, so noticeable 
in his early life, were illustrated by the promptness 
and energy with which he met a singular disappoint- 
ment on the day his regiment left Columbus for the 
seat of war. By some mistake or misunderstanding 
he had not reached the depot when the train started. 
Coming up within five minutes, he remarked to the 
superintendent of the road, "I was never behind 
time before in my life, and I will not be now ;" and 
he chartered an engine, was off in a few minutes, 
and overtook his regiment in less than one hour. 

Colonel Garfield's orders were, to open communi- 
cation with Colonel Cranor, and form a junction 
with his forces, although his command did not num- 
ber half that of the enemy. The first indispensable 
thing to be done was to find a trusty messenger, to 
bear despatches to Colonel Cranor. He must be a 
man who would die rather than betray his trust; for 
Colonel Cranor was a hundred miles away, and the 
25 



386 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

messenger must go through a region inhabited by 
disloyal people, and infested by guerillas. He ap- 
plied to Colonel Moore, of the Fourteenth Kentucky. 

•" Have you a man who will die rather than fail or 
betray us?" 

" I think I have," the Colongl replied, after a little 
reflection, "John Jordan." 

The man was called, a strong-looking fellow, 
tall and lean, with a squeaking voice, his speech the 
uncouth dialect of the mountains, where he was 
born and reared, subject to the hardest toil and pri- 
vation. He knew much of nature, in whose lap he 
was dandled, but very little of books, except the 
" Course of Time," and the Bible. Some officers 
would have thought him too simple for a spy, or ex- 
pert messenger ; but Garfield read him in a minute, 
— a rude, unlettered, trusty, Christian man. 

r Why did you come into the war? " at last asked 
the colonel. 

"To do my sheer fur the kentry, gin'ral," an- 
swered the man. " And I didn't druv no barg'in 
wi' th' Lord. I guv him my life squar' out ; and ef 
he's a mind ter tuck it on this tramp, why, it's a' 
his'n ; I've nothin' ter sav ag'in it." 

5 You mean that you've come into the war not ex- 
pecting to get out of it? " 

" That's so, gin'ral." 

* Will you die rather than let the despatch be 
taken?" 

" I wull." 

"Very well ; I will trust you." 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 



187 



Colonel Garfield wrote his despatch on tissue- 
paper, rolled it into the form of a bullet, coated it 
with warm lead, and delivered it to Jordan. At the 
same time he provided him with a carbine, a brace 
of revolvers, and the fleetest horse in the regiment. 
Jordan started upon his perilous journey at night, 
after the moon was down. He was to ride by night, 
and hide in the woods, or rest in loyal families, 
if they could be found, by day. 

Before Jordan returned, another incident trans- 
pired, showing how great service Garfield's life on 
the canal was to him, in another direction. One 
day a loyal scout presented himself at his head- 
quarters, and grasping Colonel Garfield's hand, ex- 
claimed, in a jolly way, 

"Jim!" 

Garfield looked at him with surprise, for a mo- 
ment, but did not recognize him. 

" Who are you? " he inquired. 

" Yer old companion, Jim," answered the scout. 

n My old companion ! " ejaculated Garfield. 

" Yis, yer old companion ! Yer see, I was a 
scout in West Virginia, under Rosecrans ; and hear- 
ing of the Sandy Valley expedition, and that James 
A. Garfield, of Ohio, had command of it, I thought 
as how that must be my old companion on the canal 
boat ; and so I made tracks for yer." 

"Harry!" exclaimed Garfield, shaking his hand 
heartily, as he recognized one of Captain Letcher's 
crew, whose name was Henry S. Brown, but known 
as "Harry " on the boat. The marks of a very dis- 



388 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



sipated life had obliterated the traces of his former 
self, so that it was not strange that Garfield did not 
recognize him. Brown was strongly attached to 
"Jim " on the canal, and now he desired, above all 
things, to serve him. 

" Colonel Garfield, " at length Brown said, laying 
aside the familiar title by which he was known on 
the canal-boat, and addressing him respectfully, as 
any loyal soldier would address his superior officer, 
" Colonel Garfield, I'm at yer service." 

"Just the man I want for a scout," answered Gar- 
field, heartily. He had confidence in Brown for 
that business, and trusted him at once. He knew 
the country thoroughly ; and Garfield sent him 
ahead of his column to make the circuit of the rebel 
camp, and learn, if possible, the strength and posi- 
tion of Marshall's army. He was directed, also, to 
sweep through the mountain border of Virginia, to 
learn if the loyal forces were threatened from that 
quarter. Brown departed, and Garfield moved for- 
ward. 

On the following night, as Garfield lay in sound 
sleep, about midnight, Jordan came riding into 
camp from his dangerous trip. Alighting from his 
foaming steed, he rushed into his commander's quar- 
ters, and shook him until he awoke. 

"What! back safe?" exclaimed Garfield, as soon 
as he recognized Jordan. " Have you seen Colonel 
Cranor?" 

"Yes, colonel ; he can't be mor'n two days ahind 
o' me, nohow." 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 



3^9 



" God bless you, Jordan ! You have clone us 
great service," said Garfield, warmly. 

K I thank ye, colonel," answered Jordan, his voice 
trembling; ; "that's more pay 'n I expected." 

He had returned safely ; but the Providence which 
so wonderfully guarded his way out seemed to leave 
him to find his own way back ; for, as he expressed 
it, " The Lord he cared more for the despatch nor 
he cared for me; and it was nat'ral he shu'd ; 
'cause my life only counts one, but the despatch — it 
stood for all Kentucky.." 

The use of Jordan and Brown for scouts initiated 
Garfield into the condition of a successful " secret 
service." When he became chief of General Rose- 
crans' staff he organized a "secret service," which 
Rosecrans called " the eyes of the army ; " and it 
was acknowledged to be the most complete and 
efficient scout system of the war. 

The Atlantic Monthly, of October, 1865, con- 
tained a detailed account of Jordan's wonderful trip, 
and it closed by leaving the hero in some unknown 
grave-yard — dead. But two years afterwards he 
turned up, and wrote to General Garfield that he 
was dead only on paper, and that he still had a life 
to give to his country. 

We have seen that Garfield was a born leader 
among the companions of his youth, and that the 
magnetism of his personal presence inspired hearts 
around him with a kindred spirit. When he be- 
came a teacher, we have seen that he excelled other 
teachers in awakening the enthusiasm of his pupils, 



390 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE, 

and leading them to pursue their studies, or a life- 
purpose, with singular devotion. It was equally so 
in the army. In the first victorious battle that he 
fought — that of Middle Creek — many incidents 
transpired to establish this fact. . 

Colonel Garfield had a hundred of his Hiram 
students in his command. As soon as he discovered 
where the main rebel force lay he ordered the Hi- 
ram students to cross the rapid stream, and climb 
the ridge opposite, whence the rebel fire had been 
the hottest, his object being to bring on a battle. 
As if imitating their brave commander, who never 
seemed to heed danger, or to think of himself, the 
students responded with a cheer, and were soon up 
to their waists in the cold, wintry river. Once 
over, they started up the rocky ascent with a yell, 
clinging to the trees and underbrush to support 
themselves. When not more than half way up the 
ridge two thousand rebel rifles opened upon them ; 
but on they went, and up, until the summit was 
reached, when suddenly the hill was alive with 
rebel soldiers, springing from ambush, and pouring 
a deadly fire into the little Spartan band. For an 
instant the students faltered, but the shout of their 
leader, Captain Williams, rallied them. 

" Every man to a tree ! Give them as good as 
they send, boys ! " 

The order was obeyed, and behind the huge oaks 
and maples the boys stood and fired, picking off the 
confederates, one by one. As yet, not one of the 
Hiram boys has fallen. But the rebels charge upon 



t 

INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 39 r 

them, and drive them down the hill, two of their 
number falling, one to rise no more. A Hiram boy 
turns to his wounded comrade to bear him away, 
when a rebel, within thirty feet, fires, and the bullet 
strikes a tree just above his head. The Hiram stu- 
dent takes deliberate aim, and sends that rebel to 
his account. But he cannot bear away his comrade, 
for the rebels are upon him. He joins his retreating- 
companions just as the voice of the heroic Captain 
Williams is heard again, above the din of battle : 

"To the trees again, my boys ! We may as well 
die here as in Ohio ! " 

To the trees they go, and succeed in turning back 
the rebel advance, and driving them up the hill. 
Passing the wounded Hiram boy, a confederate said 
to him, 

" Boy, guv me yer musket." 

"Not the gun, but the contents," shouted the 
brave fellow ; and the confederate fell dead at his feet. 

Another rebel raised his weapon to brain the 
prostrate student, when the latter seized the dead 
rebel's gun, at his feet, and shot him so quickly that 
the rebel scarcely knew what hurt him. One hour 
afterwards the bovs had borne their bleeding hero 
to camp, where the surgeon proceeded to amputate 
his limb. 

"Oh, what will mother do?" exclaimed the pa- 
triot, in the midst of his agony: His mother was 
poor, dependent upon her son for support. Two 
weeks later the story of Charles Carlton, of Frank- 
lin, Ohio, was told in the Ohio senate, and it aroused 



392 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

the state to lead off in framing statutes to aid the 
widows and mothers of its soldiers. 

Colonel Garfield ordered five hundred soldiers 
forward to support the Hiram valiants. With a 
shout they plunged into the stream, holding their 
cartridge-boxes above their heads. 

" Hurrah for Williams, and the Hiram boys ! " 

But four thousand muskets, and twelve pieces of 
artillery, concentrate a fearful fire upon them. 

"This will never do," cried Garfield; " who will 
volunteer to carry the other mountain? " 

"We will," answered Colonel Moore, of the 
twenty-second Kentucky. " We know every inch 
of the ground." 

"Go in, then, and give them Hail Columbia!" 
Garfield shouted. 

And they did; a similar fight on the other ridge, 
the loyal troops behind trees, picking off the rebels 
whose heads peered above the rocks. Cooler men 
never served in war. 

"Do you see that reb?" said one comrade to an- 
other. " Hit him while I'm loading." 

Another was raising his cartridge to his mouth 
when a rebel bullet cut away the powder, leaving 
the lead in his fingers. Shielding his arm with his 
body, he says, as he reloads, 
. " There, see if you can hit that? " 

Another took out a piece of hard tack, and a ball 
cut it to pieces in his hand. 

He coolly swallowed the remnant, and fired at his 
foe. One was brought down by a rebel bullet in his 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 393 

knee; but, with rifle still in hand, he watched for 
the man who shot him. The rebel's head soon ap- 
peared above the rock, and the two fired at the same 
moment. The loyal soldier was hit fatally in the 
mouth. When his comrades were bearing him 
away, he spoke out, 

" Never mind, that secesh is done for." 

When the confederate was found, on the following 
day, the upper part of his head was shot away by 
the other's fatal charge. 

So the battle raged, the loyal forces advancing, 
and then retreating, until the fate of the little union 
army seemed to hang in the balance, when Garfield, 
standing on a rock that was scarred by a thousand 
bullets, and from which he could take in the whole 
scene, with his head uncovered, and his hair stream- 
ing in the wind, his face upturned in earnest prayer 
for Sheldon and his forces, (expected reinforce- 
ments,) turned to his hundred men, held back as 
reserves, exclaiming, as he tossed his outer coat into 
a tree, 

"Come on, boys ! we must give them Hail Colum- 
bia!" 

And they rushed to the succor of the forlorn hope, 
just as the sun was sinking behind the western hills ; 
when lo ! a look to the northward revealed to Gar- 
field the star spangled banner waving among the 
trees ! It was Sheldon and his reinforcements, just 
in season to turn the tide of battle. The rebel com- 
mander sounded "retreat!" but had scarcely given 



394 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

the order when six loyal bullets pierced his body, 
and he fell dead. 

" God bless you, boys ; you have saved Ken- 
tucky ! " shouted Garfield to his troops, when they 
ceased pursuing the retreating confederates. 

We learned before that President Lincoln made 
Garfield brigader-general for gallant services in this 
battle. The President was much depressed at the 
time of this victory, because of repeated disasters to 
our arms in the ff Department of the East." A dis- 
tinguished army officer was present with him when 
he received the news of this victory, and Mr. Lin- 
coln said to the officer, 

f Why did Garfield, in two weeks, do what would 
have taken one of your regular officers two months to 
accomplish? " 

te Because he was not educated at West Point," re- 
plied the West Pointer, laughingly. 

"No," answered Mr. Lincoln, " that was not the 
reason. It was because, when he was a boy, he had 
to work for a living." 

After the battle of Middle Creek, Garfield's soldiers 
were exhausted, and short of rations. The roads 
were well-nigh impassable, because of the deep mud, 
and the Big Sandy was swollen to a torrent, render- 
ing the delivery of supplies difficult. Something 
must be done. Garfield proposed to go down the 
river to hurry up supplies, but the oldest boatmen 
refused, saying, " Impossible, it can't be done ! " 

Brown, the scout, had returned, and Garfield 
opened the subject to him. 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. ^ 



"What do you think of it, Brown? The boatmen 
say that it is sure death ; what do you say? You 
and I know something about boatino-." 

The scouts reply was characteristic. "Its which 
and tother, Gineral Jim ; starvin' or drownin'. I'd 
rather drown nor starve. So, guv the word, and, 
dead or alive, I'll git down the river!" 

"All right, Harry, we'll go!" And they sprang 
into a small skiff, and committed their lives to the 
raging torrent. It was a fearful sail, but they reached 
the mouth of the Big Sandy in safety ; and here 
Garfield's experience on the canal boat served him 
well. There he found a small, rickety steamer, 
named "Sandy Valley," tied up at Catletsburg. 

rr I am under the necessity of taking possession 
of your steamer to carry supplies to my troops," 
Colonel Garfield said to the captain, who was a se- 
cessionist, and who, of course, would have pre- 
ferred that his troops should starve rather than to 
feed them. 

"This craft can't stem such a current, no how ; it'll 
be the death on us," the captain replied. There was 
some reason for his saying this, for the water in the 
channel was sixty feet deep, so swollen that trees 
along the banks were submerged nearly to their tops. 

" Nevertheless, I must have this steamer, and I 
will assume the command;" and so saying, Garfield 
ordered the captain and crew on board, took his sta- 
tion at the helm, placed Brown at the bow, with a 
long fending pole, to keep one eye on the floating 
logs and uprooted trees, and the other on the rebel 



396 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

captain. The steamer was loaded with provisions, 
and started up the river with Captain (not Colonel 
just now) Garfield in command. We learned in the 
course of our narrative that once he desired to com- 
mand some sort of water-craft, and now his early 
hopes were realized. 

When night came on, it was dark and tempestu- 
ous, and the captain said, 

" The boat must be tied up to-night, can't live in 
such a time ; it is madness to keep on." 

" But I am captain of this steamer now," responded 
Garfield ; " keep to your duty and I will keep to 
mine. We don't tie up boats in such a crisis as this. 
Freshen the fires men, and put on the steam." And 
he kept the steamer on its way. 

Finally, in turning a bend in the river, the steamer 
swept round and grounded on a bar of quicksand. 
The usual efforts were made to relieve her, but in 
vain. And now that tact and sound common sense 
for which we have seen that Garfield was distin- 
guished from boyhood, came to his rescue. 

" Get a line to the opposite shore ! " commanded 
Garfield, particularly addressing the sulky captain. 

" A line to that shore ! " shouted the rebel captain 
in reply. "It's death on any man that 'tempts it." 

"It can be done, and it must be done," cried Gar- 
field ; and he leaped into the yawl, calling Brown to 
follow, and steered for the shore. The wild torrent 
swept them down the stream a short distance, but 
they rallied by almost superhuman strength, reached 
the shore, fastened the line, constructed a windlass, 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 397 



and, in a short time, the steamer was -drawn from her 
bed in the mud, and was on her triumphant way up 
the stream. From Saturday until nine o'clock Mon- 
day morning Garfield stood at the wheel, night and 
day ; and when he reached Paintsville his troops 
were reduced almost to their last cracker. His ex- 
perience with rough men at the " Black-salters," 
and on the canal, qualified him to deal with such a 
rebel as the captain of the "Sandy Valley." 

When the steamer drew up to the Union camp 
Garfield's men were almost frantic with joy. They 
cheered and yelled, and seized their brave com- 
mander, and would have borne him upon their 
shoulders to head-quarters had he not resolutely 
protested against it. 

Brown, the scout, came to a melancholy end. 
General Garfield wrote about him, May 31, 1864, 
as follows : 

' x When we first met he recognized me as an old 
acquaintance on the Ohio canal. He at once took a 
sort of enthusiastic pride in me, and with a rough, 
generous nature, was ready to make any personal 
sacrifices to aid me to success. He was not trusted 
by most of our people ; indeed, many of them at- 
tempted to convince me that he was not only a ras- 
cal, but a rebel. I think he had an eye for a good 
horse, and did not always closely distinguish be- 
tween meum and tuum; but my remembrance of him 
on the canal, together with a feeling that he loved 
me, made me trust him implicitly. I think he was 
never perfectly happy till he helped me to navigate 



398 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

the little steamer up the Big Sandy in the high 
water. Indeed, I could not have done that without 
his aid. He was about forty years old ; a short, 
stocky, sailor-looking fellow, somewhat bloated with 
hard drinking ; in short, he was a rare combination 
of good and bad qualities, with strong traits, a 
ruined man ; and yet, underneath the ruins, a great 
deal of generous, self-sacrificing noble-heartedness, 
which made one deplore his fall, and yet like him. 
He went north, on some personal business, just before 
I left the Sandy Valley, and I received a dirty note 
from him, written from Buffalo, in which he said 
he should meet me somewhere in 'the tide of battle,' 
and fight by my side again ; but I have not heard 
from him since." 

Another says : 

1 This was in 1864. Ten years afterward, as 
General Garfield was about to deliver an address at 
Cornell, a heavy hand was laid upon his shoulder, 
and, turning about, he saw his ex-scout and old 
boat-companion. He was even a more perfect ruin 
than before — with bleared eyes, bloated face, and 
garments that were half tatters. He had come, he 
said, while the tears rolled down his cheeks, to that 
quiet place to die, and now he could die in peace, 
because he had seen his 'gineral.' 

" Garfield gave him money, and got him quarters 
among some kind people, and left him, telling him 
to try to be a man ; but, in any event, to let him 
know if he ever needed further help. A year or 
more passed, and no word came from Brown ; but 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 399 



then the superintendent of the public hospital at Buf- 
falo wrote the general that a man was there very 
sick, who, in his delirium, talked of him, of the 
Ohio Canal, and of the Sandy Valley expedition. 
Garfield knew at once that it was Brown, and imme- 
diately forwarded funds to the hospital, asking that 
he should have every possible care and comfort. 
The letter which acknowledged the remittance an- 
nounced that the poor fellow had died — died, mut- 
tering, in his delirium, the name ' Jim Garfield.' 

"Garfield gave him a decent burial, and this was 
the last of the poor fellow." 

General Garfield's tact, sagacity, fidelity, spirit of 
self-sacrifice, and undaunted courage, so conspicu- 
ous in his early life, are illustrated b}^ his famous 
ride from General Rosecrans to General Thomas, 
when the army of the Cumberland was almost 
routed in the famous battle of Chickamauga. It 
was necessary for General Thomas to know the dis- 
aster that had befallen Rosecrans' forces, in order to 
meet the rebel General Longstreet victorious!}'. 
Garfield proposed to undertake the fearful ride. 
Edmund Kirk, war correspondent of the "New York 
Tribune," described it as follows : 

"Rosecrans hesitates, thtn says, f As you will, 
general;' and then, reaching Garfield his hand, he 
adds, while his face shows his emotion, 'We may 
not meet again ; good-bye ; God bless you !' Though 
one of the bravest men and ablest soldiers that ever 
lived, Rosecrans has a heart as tender and gentle as 
a woman's. He thinks Garfield is going to well- 



400 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



nigh certain death, and he loves him as David loved 
Jonathan. Again he wrings his hand, and then 
they part — Rosecrans to the rear, to rally his broken 
troops, Garfield to a perilous ride in pursuit of 
Thomas. 

" Captain Gaw and two of his orderlies go with 
Garfield to guide the way. They make a wide 
detour to avoid the Confederates, and, by the route 
they take, it is eight miles of tangled forest and open 
road before they get to Thomas, and at any turn 
they may come upon the enemy. 

"At Rossville they take the Lafayette Road, 
guiding their way by the sound of the firing, and 
moving cautiously, for they are now nearing the 
battle-field. The road here is scarcely more than a 
lane, flanked on one side by a thick wood, and on 
the other by an open cotton-field. No troops are in 
sight, and on they gallop at a rapid pace ; and they 
have left Rossville a thousand yards behind, when 
suddenly, from along the left of the road, a volley of 
a thousand Minie-balls falls among them, thick as 
hail, wounding one horse, killing another, and 
stretching the two orderlies on the ground lifeless. 
They have ridden into an ambuscade of a large 
body of Longstreet's skirmishers and sharp-shooters, 
who, entering the fatal gap in the right centre, have 
pressed thus far upon the flank of Thomas. 

w Garfield is mounted on a magnificent horse, that 
knows his rider's bridle-hand as well as he knows 
the route to his fodder. Putting spurs to his side, he 
leaps the fence into the cotton-field. The opposite 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD 40I 



fence is lined with gray blouses, and a single glance 
tells him that they are loading for another volley. 
He has been in tight places before, but this is the 
tightest. Putting his lips firmly together, he says to 
himself, f Now is your time; be a man, Jim Gar- 
field ! ' He speaks to his horse, and lays his left 
hand gently on the rein of the animal. The trained 
beast yields kindly to his touch; and, putting the 
rowels into his side, Garfield takes a zigzag course 
across the cotton-field. It is his only chance ; he 
must tack from side to side, for he is a dead man if 
they get a steady aim upon him. 

" He is riding up an inclined plane of about four 
hundred yards, and if he can pass the crest, he is in 
safety. But the gray fellows can load and fire twice 
before he reaches the summit, and his death is a 
thing certain, unless Providence has more work for 
him to do on this footstool. Up the hill he goes, 
tacking, when another volley bellows from out the 
timber. His horse is struck, — a flesh wound, — but 
the noble animal only leaps forward the faster. Scat- 
tering bullets whiz by his head, but he is within a 
few feet of the summit. Another volley echoes along 
the hill when he is half over the crest, but in a mo- 
ment more he is in safety. As he tears down the 
slope, a small body of mounted blue-coats gallop for- 
ward to meet him. At their head is General Dan 
McCook, his face anxious and pallid. f My God, 
Garfield?' he cries, f I thought vou were killed, cer- 
tain. How you have escaped is a miracle.' 

"Garfield's horse has been struck twice, but he is 
26 



4 02 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

good yet for a score of miles ; and at a breakneck 
pace they go forward, through ploughed fields and 
tangled forests, and over broken and rocky hills, for 
four weary miles, till they climb a wooded crest, and 
are within sight of Thomas. In a slight depression 
of the ground, with a group of officers about him, he 
stands in the open field, while over him sweeps the 
storm of shotted fire that falls in thick rain on the 
high foot-hill which Garfield is crossing. Shot and 
shell and canister plow up the ground all about Gar- 
field ; but in the midst of it he halts, and with up- 
lifted right arm, and eyes full of tears, he shouts, as 
he catches sight of Thomas, r There he is ! God 
bless the old hero ! he has saved the army ! ' 

"For a moment only he halts, then he plunges 
down the hill through the fiery storm, and in five 
minutes is by the side of Thomas. He has come 
out unscathed from the hurricane of death, for God's 
good angels have warded off the bullets, but his 
noble horse staggers a step or two, and then falls 
dead at the feet of Thomas." 

Garfield's terrible ride saved the army of the Cum- 
berland from remediless disaster. 

Another incident illustrative of his life-long inde- 
pendence in standing for the right, befriending the 
down-trodden, and assailing slavery, was his refusal 
to return a fugitive slave. One of his staff told the 
story thus : 

" One day I noticed a fugitive slave come rushing 
into camp with a bloody head, and apparently fright- 
ened almost to death. He had only passed my tent 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 403 

a moment, when a regular bully of a fellow came 
riding up, and, with a volley of oaths, began to ask 
after his 'nigger.' General Garfield was not pres- 
ent, and he passed on to the division commander. 
This division commander was a sympathizer with the 
theory that fugitives should be returned to their mas- 
ters, and that the Union soldiers should be made the 
instruments for returning them. He accordingly 
wrote a mandatory order to General Garfield, in 
whose command the slave was supposed to be hid- 
ing, telling him to hunt out and deliver over the 
property of the outraged citizen. I stated the case 
as fully as I could to General Garfield before hand- 
ing him the order, but did not color my statement 
in any way. He took the order, and deliberately 
wrote on it the following indorsement : 

" ' I respectfully but positively decline to allow my 
command to search for or deliver up any fugitive 
slaves. I conceive that they are here for quite 
another purpose. The command is open, and no 
obstacles will be placed in the way of search.' 

" I read the indorsement and was frightened. I 
expected that, if returned, the result would be that 
the general would be court-martialed. I told him 
my fears. He simply replied: f The matter may 
as well be tested first as last. Right is right, and I 
do not propose to mince matters at all. My soldiers 
are here for other purposes than hunting and return- 
ing fugitive slaves. My people, on the Western 
Reserve of Ohio, did not send my boys and 
myself down here to do that kind of business, 



404 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

and they will back me up in my action.' He would 
not alter the indorsement, and the order was re- 
turned. Nothing ever came of the matter further." 

In the beginning of our story, we learned that one 
of Garfield's first teachers told him, (patting him on 
the head,) "You may make a general, if you learn 
well." He did not understand the meaning of it at 
the time, but he knows all about it now. Nor is it 
difficult to understand how his early opportunities to 
study human nature, his ability to read character, 
his tact and experience in disciplining and drilling a 
large school, fitted him for a successful general. 

His life in congress abounds in thrilling incidents 
of moral courage, loyalty, and defence of right. 
" Peace hath her victories no less renowned than 
war." 

One of the first important measures that came up, 
after he entered congress, was a Bounty Bill — 
offering men a sum of money, in addition to the 
regular army pay, to become soldiers, instead of 
drafting and forcing them to serve. The Bounty 
Bill was very popular with his own party, and draft- 
ing was very unpopular. General Garfield did not 
consider the popularity or unpopularity of the meas- 
ure at all, but he opposed it with all his might, on 
the ground that bounties recruited the army with un- 
reliable soldiers, necessitated an expense that the gov- 
ernment could not* long endure ; and besides, he 
claimed that the government had a right to the ser- 
vices of every able-bodied male citizen, from eighteen 
to forty-five years of age, and they should be drafted 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 



405 



to the extent of the country's need. When the vote 
was taken, Garfield voted against his own party, 
with only a single member of it to stand with him. 
A few days thereafter, Secretary Chase said to him : 

" General Garfield ! I was proud of your vote the 
other day. Your position is impregnable ; but let 
me tell you it is rather risky business for a mem- 
ber of congress to vote against his own party." 

" Risky business,'' exclaimed Garfield, " for a man 
to stand upon his conscience ! His constituents may 
leave him at home, but what is that compared with 
trampling upon his convictions?" 

A few days afterwards, President Lincoln went 
before the military committee, of which Garfield was 
a member, and told them what he did not dare to 
breathe to the country : 

" In one hundred days, three hundred and eighty 
thousand soldiers will be withdrawn from our army, 
by expiration of the time of their enlistment. Unless 
congress shall authorize me to fill up the vacancy 
by draft, I shall be compelled to recall Sherman 
from Atlanta, and Grant from the Peninsula." 

Some of the committee endeavored to dissuade 
him from such a measure, saying that it would en- 
danger his re-election, to adopt a measure so unpop- 
ular. Mr. Lincoln stretched his tall form up to its 
full height, and exclaimed, 

"Gentlemen, it is not necessary that I should be 
re-elected, but it is necessary that I should put down 
this rebellion. If you will give me this law I will 
put it down before my successor takes his office." 



4 06 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

- — - ...■--- ■ 

A draft-law for five hundred thousand men was 
reported to the House, when Garfield made one of 
his most eloquent and patriotic speeches in its favor, 
carrying it by storm. Congress and .the whole coun- 
try soon came to feel that Garfield was right. 

A few months later, Alexander Long, Democratic 
member of the house from Ohio, in sympathy with 
the authors of the rebellion, rose in his seat, and 
proposed to recognize the southern confederacy. 
This treasonable act caused Garfield's patriotic 
blood to boil in his veins, and he sprang to his feet 
and delivered one of the most powerful philippics 
ever heard in the American congress. Calling at- 
tention to the traitor of the American revolution, — 
Benedict Arnold, — he said, 

" But now, when tens of thousands of brave souls 
have gone up to God under the shadow of the flag ; 
when thousands more, maimed and shattered in the 
contest, are sadly awaiting the deliverance of death ; 
now, when three years of terrific warfare have raged 
over us ; when our armies have pushed the rebellion 
back over mountains and rivers, and crowded it into 
narrow limits, until a wall of fire girds it; now, 
when the uplifted hand of a majestic people is about 
to hurl the bolts of its conquering power upon the 
rebellion; now, in the quiet of this hall, hatched in 
the lowest depths of a similar dark treason, there 
rises a Benedict Arnold, and proposes to surrender 
all up, body and spirit, the nation and the flag, its 
genius and its honor, now and forever, to the ac- 
cursed traitors to our country ! And that proposition 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 407 



comes — God forgive and pity my beloved state it 

comes from a citizen of the time-honored and loyal 
commonwealth of Ohio ! 

"I implore you, brethren in this house, to believe 
that not many births ever gave pangs to my mother 
state such as she suffered when that traitor was 
born ! I beg you not to believe that on the soil of 
that state another such a growth has ever deformed 
the face of nature, and darkened the light of God's 
day." 

This single paragraph shows the spirit of this 
noble effort. 

President Lincoln vetoed a bill, in 1864, providing 
for the organization of civil governments in Ar- 
kansas and Louisiana, and appointed military gov- 
ernors. Many Republicans criticised him severely ; 
among them, Garfield. His constituents disapproved 
of his course, and resolved not to renominate him. 
The convention of his congressional district, the 
nineteenth of Ohio, met, and General Garfield was 
called upon for an explanation. When he went 
upon the platform, the delegates expected to hear 
an apology from him ; but instead, he boldly de- 
fended his course, and that of Wade and Davis, who 
criticised the president sharply in the New York 
Tribune ; and he gave the reasons for his action, 
adding, 

" I have nothing whatever to retract, and I cannot 
change my honest convictions for the sake of a seat 
in congress. I have great respect for the opinions 
of my constituents, but greater regard for my own 



408 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

conscience. If I can serve you as an independent 
representative, acting upon my own judgment and 
convictions, I would be glad to do so ; but if not, I 
do not want your nomination ; I would prefer to be 
an independent private citizen." 

It was the coolest, plainest, most fearless speech, 
probably, that was ever made before a nominating 
convention in Ohio. Garfield withdrew from the 
hall as soon as he closed his speech. No sooner 
had he withdrawn, than a delegate arose and said, 

" Mr. President, the man who has the courage to 
face a convention like that deserves a nomination. 
I move that General Garfield be nominated by ac- 
clamation." 

The motion was carried so quickly, and by such 
a round of applause, that General Garfield heard it 
before he reached the hotel. 

General Garfield prosecuted a European tour in 
the summer of 1868, for his health. On his return, 
he found his own congressional district running wild 
with the heresy of paying the national debt in 
greenbacks. The convention to nominate a con- 
gressional candidate was pending ; and his constit- 
uents knew that he believed in paying the debt with 
honest money — gold. Friends told him that his 
renomination would be opposed on that ground. 
They proposed to give him a public reception, but 
charged him not to express his views on that subject, 
in his speech ; when called out, however, he struck 
at once upon that exciting theme, referring to the 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 40() 



information he had received concerning their desire 
to pay the national debt in greenbacks, and said : 

"Much as I value your opinions, I here denounce 
this theory that has worked its way into this state as 
dishonest, unwise, and unpatriotic; and if I were 
offered a nomination and election for my natural 
life, from this district, on this platform, I should 
spurn it. If you should ever raise the question of 
renominating me, let it be understood you can have 
my services only on the ground of the honest pay- 
ment of this debt, and these bonds, in coin, accord- 
ing to the letter and spirit of the contract." 

In the campaign of 1864, he went into Maryland 
to speak, on the invitation of Postmaster-general 
Creswell. He spoke at Chestertown. Rebel sym- 
pathizers in the crowd threw rotten eggs at him. 
At once he interjected this fearless castigation into 
his speech : 

" I have just come from fighting brave rebels at 
Chickamauga; I shall not flinch before cowardly 
rebels like you." 

On the fourteenth day of April, 1865, President 
Lincoln was assassinated. The following morning 
New York city presented a scene of the most peril- 
ous excitement. Placards were pasted up in New 
York, Brooklyn, and Jersey City, calling upon loyal 
citizens to meet around Wall-Street Exchange, at 
eleven o'clock. Thousands came, armed with re- 
volvers and knives, ready to avenge the death of the 
martyred President. Fifty thousand men gathered 
there, their blood boiling with the fires of patriotism. 



410 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



There were few in the multitude who would not 
strike down the rebel sympathizer who should dare 
speak a word against Lincoln. One such remarked 
to another, " Lincoln ought to have been shot long 
ago." He was not suffered to repeat it. A portable 
gallows was carried through the crowd, lifted above 
their heads, the bearers muttering, " Vengeance ! " 
as they went. The prospect was that the office of 
the " World," a disloyal journal, and some prominent 
sympathizers with the rebellious south, would be 
swallowed in the raging sea of passion. The wave 
of popular indignation was swollen by the harangues 
of public speakers. In the midst of the terrible ex- 
citement, a telegram from Washington was read, — 
" Seward is Dying." For an instant, vengeance 
and death upon every paper and every man opposed 
to Lincoln seemed to move the mighty crowd. Pos- 
sibly the scene of the French revolution would have 
been reproduced in the streets of New York, had not 
a man of commanding figure, bearing a small flag 
in his hand, stepped forward and beckoned to the 
excited throng. 

w Another telegram from Washington ! " cried hun- 
dreds of voices. It was the silence of death that fol- 
lowed. It seemed as if every listener held his breath 
to hear. 

Lifting his right arm toward heaven, in a clear, 
distinct, steady, ponderous voice, that the multitude 
could hear, the speaker said : 

" Fellow citizens : Clouds and darkness are round 
about Him ! His pavilion is dark waters and thick 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 4II 



clouds of the skies ! Justice and judgment are the 
habitation of His throne ! Mercy and truth shall go 
before His face ! Fellow citizens : God reigns, and 
the Government at Washington still lives ! " 

The speaker was General Garfield. The 
effect of his remarkable effort was miraculous. 
Another said of it : 

" As the boiling wave subsides and settles to the 
sea when some strong wind beats it down, so the 
tumult of the people sank and became still. As the 
rod draws the electricity from the air, and conducts 
it safely to the ground, so this man had drawn the 
fury from that frantic crowd, and guided it to more 
tranquil thoughts than vengeance. It was as if some 
divinity had spoken through him. It was a triumph 
of eloquence, a flash of inspiration such as seldom 
comes to any man, and to not more than one man 
in a century. Webster, nor Choate, nor Everett, 
nor Seward, ever reached it. Demosthenes never 
equalled it. The man for the crisis had come, and 
his words words were more potent than Napoleon's 
guns at Paris." 

This incident illustrates several of the qualities of 
Garfield's character that we have seen in his early 
life, — his sagacity, tact, quick-witted turn for an 
emergency ; his magnetic power, and familiarity 
with, and confidence in, the Bible. All along- 
through his public career the attainments, habits, 
and application of his youth contributed to his mar- 
velous success. 

As his character and abilities added dignity to the 



412 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

office of janitor and teacher in his early manhood, so 
they have dignified all the offices that he has filled 
throughout his public career. 

In scholarship and familiarity with general litera- 
ture Garfield has stood without a peer in congress. 
Mr. Townsend said of him : " Since John Qiiincy 
Adams, no President has had Garfield's scholar- 
ship, which is equally up to this age of wider facts." 
A Washington writer says : " Few public men in 
this city keep up literary studies. General Garfield is 
one of the few." Another says, " Garfield is a man 
of infinite resources. He is one of the half-dozen 
men in congress who read books." President Hins- 
dale says, " He has great power of logical analysis, 
and stands with the first in power of rhetorical expo- 
sition. He has the instincts and habits of a scholar. 
As a student, he loves to roam in every field of 
knowledge. He delights in creations of the imagin- 
ation, poetry, fiction, and art; loves the abstract 
things of philosophy ; takes a keen interest in scien- 
tific research ; gathers into his capacious store-house 
the facts of history and politics, and throws over the 
whole the life and power of his own originality. . . . 
No public man of the last ten years has more won 
upon our scholars, scientists, men of letters, and the 
cultivated classes generally. . . . His moral char- 
acter is the fit crown of his physical and intellectual 
nature. His mind is pure, his heart kind, his nature 
and habits simple, his generosity unbounded. An 
old friend told me the other day, " I have never 
found anything to compare with Garfield's heart." 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 4 r 3 



Smalley, one of his biographers, says : 

M There is probably no living political orator 
whose efforts before large audiences are so effective. 
He appeals directly to the reason of men, and onlv 
after carrying his hearers along on a strong tide of 
argument to irresistible conclusions, does he address 
himself to their feelings. . . . He has a powerful 
voice, great personal magnetism, and a style of ad- 
dress that wins confidence at the outset, and he is 
master of the art of binding together facts and logic 
into a solid sheaf of argument. At times he seems 
to lift his audience up and shake it with strong emo- 
tion, so powerful is his eloquence." 

We close our narrative with a collection of his 
original sentiments and maxims, from his numerous 
public addresses, just the thoughts for every youth 
of the land to ponder : 

"There is no more common thought among young 
people than that foolish one, that by and by some- 
thing will turn up by which they will suddenly 
achieve fame or fortune. No, young gentlemen ; 
things don't turn up in this world unless somebody 
turns them up." 

" I feel a profounder reverence for a boy than a 
man. I never meet a ragged boy on the street 
without feeling that I owe him a salute, for I know 
not what possibilities may be buttoned up under his 
shabby coat." 

"There is scarcely a more pitiable sight than to 
see here and there learned men, so called, who have 
graduated in our own and the universities of Europe 



414 



LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 



with high honors, and yet who could not harness a 
horse, or make out a bill of sale, if the world de- 
pended upon it." 

" Luck is an ignis fatnus . You may follow it to 
ruin, but not to success." 

" A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck." 

w Be fit for more than the one thing you are now 
doing 1 ." 

" Nothing is more uncertain than the result of any 
one throw ; few things more certain than the result 
of many throws." 

" If the power to do hard work is not talent, it is 
the best possible substitute for it." 

w Every character is the joint product of nature 
and nurture." 

"Not a man of iron, but of live oak." 

"It is no honor or profit merely to appear in the 
arena. The wreath is for those who contend." 

" For the noblest man that lives there still remains 
a conflict." 

"The privilege of being a young man is a great 
privilege, and the privilege of growing up to be an 
independent man, in middle life, is a greater." 

" I would rather be beaten in right than succeed 
in wrong." 

" Present evils always seem greater than those 
that never come." 

rf Whatever you win in life you must conquer by 
your own efforts, and then it is yours — a part of 
yourself." 

" Poets may be born, but success is made." 



INCIDENTS OF HIS MANHOOD. 4 r 5 



w Growth is better than permanence, and perma- 
nent growth is better than all." 

" The principles of ethics have not changed by 
the lapse of years." 

"If there be one thing upon this earth that man- 
kind love and admire better than another, it is a 
brave man, — it is a man who dares look the devil 
in the face, and tell him he is a devil." 

"The possession of great powers no doubt carries 
with it a contempt for mere external show." 

'That man will be a benefactor of his race who 
shall teach us how to manage rightly the first years 
of a child's education." 

"The student should study himself, his relation to 
society, to nature, and to art, and above all, in all, 
and through all these, he should study the relations 
of himself, society, nature, and art to God, the Au- 
thor of them all." 

" Great ideas travel slowly, and for a time noise- 
lessly, as the gods whose feet were shod with wool." 

" What the arts are to the world of matter, litera- 
ture is to the world of mind." 

"Truth is so related and correlated that no depart- 
ment of her realm is wholly isolated." 

" I would rather be defeated than make capital out 
of my religion." 

"Ideas are the great warriors of the world, and a 
war that has no ideas behind it is simply brutality." 

"After all, territory is but the body of a nation. 
The people who inhabit its hills and its valleys are 
its soul, its spirit, its life." 



4 i6 LOG-CABIN TO WHITE HOUSE. 

" Come down the glorious steps of our banner. 
Every great record we have made has been vindi- 
cated with our blood and with our truth. It sweeps 
the ground, and it touches the stars." 

"It is a fearful thing for one man to stand up in 
the face of his brother man and refuse to keep his 
pledge ; but it is a forty-five million times worse 
thing for a nation to do it. It breaks the mainspring 
of faith." 

" The flowers that bloom over the garden wall of 
party politics are the sweetest and most fragrant 
that bloom in the gardens of this world." 

" It was not one man who killed Abraham Lin- 
coln ; it was the embodied spirit of treason and sla- 
very, inspired with fearful and despairing hate, that 
struck him down in the moment of the nation's su- 
premest joy." 

"When two hundred and fifty thousand brave 
spirits passed from the field of honor through that 
thin veil to the presence of God, and when at last 
its parting folds admitted the martyr-president to the 
company of the dead heroes of the republic, the 
nation stood so near the veil that the whispers of 
God were heard by the children of men." 



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Extra cloth, beveled, $2.00; lull Turkey morocco, antique, $5.00. 

This vo'ume contains select potions of Scripture, with commentary and hymns, 
arranged for every day of the year, and i.- intended for family worship and private 
meditation. 

'' We like extremely the spirit of the work." — The Congregat.onahst, Boston. 

The Gift of God. Bj Theodore Monod. i6mo. Cloth, 50c. 

"Simple, clear, and very sweet presentations of Christ, God's Unspeakable Gift." 
— Nciu York Christian Advocate. 

Lessons of Trust. By L. B. E., author of "How I Found 

Jesus." Elegant i6mo. Cloih. ;;c. 

Comparative'v few works have so large a sale as " How I Found Jesus." " Les- 
sons of Trust ■' i's marked bv the same singleness of purpose, simplicity and directness 
of style, and clear apprehension of divine things. 

" 'Lessons of Trust ' is a very handsomely published religious gem, a delightful 
and profitable manual for hours o' meditation." — Zion's Herald, Boston. 

The Better Life, and How to Find It. By Rev. E. P. 
Hammond. i6mo. Cloth. =oc _ 

'"Young ministers who : I 'o learn what manner of presentation of Gospel 

truth ism< st likely to be blessed of God. will do well to study this book.' — The Revival. 

The Blood of Jesus. By Rev. William Reid, D.D. iSmo. 

C'oth, 35c. . ... 

In i^suin^ an edition of this popular work at a reduced price, we desire to place it 
in the hai y person. We know of no wo: 1; that more cleat ly and helpfully 

sets forth in language that all can understand the ground of peace with God. 

$3T* Catalogue of our Publications free 

JAMES II. 1ZJL.VnL.TZ, Publislior, 

20 Ilawley Street, Boston, Mass. 



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